General Instrument

General Instrument

General Instrument (GI) was a pioneering American electronics manufacturer founded in 1923, initially based in New York City and later headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania. The company specialized in semiconductors and cable television equipment, playing a significant role in the development of the cable industry. Over the years, GI underwent substantial transformations, including a series of acquisitions in the 1950s that expanded its technological capabilities into various fields such as silicon transistor and semiconductor manufacturing. The company dominated the cable industry in the 1990s before splitting into General Semiconductor, CommScope, and NextLevel Systems in 1997. NextLevel Systems, which managed the cable and satellite TV division, later reverted to the GI name and was acquired by Motorola in 2000, eventually becoming part of Motorola Mobility and then ARRIS before being acquired by CommScope in 2018.