Agere Systems Inc. designs and manufactures integrated circuits, which are made using semiconductor wafers imprinted with a network of electronic components. Integrated circuits perform several functions such as processing and storing data, controlling electronic system functions, and processing electronic signals. Agere ranks as the market leader in providing integrated circuits for the hard disk drive market, conducting its manufacturing activity in Orlando, Florida, and overseas, where the company owns facilities in Singapore and Thailand. The company divides its business according to the markets it serves, operating a client systems group and an infrastructure systems group. Through its client systems group, Agere caters to the computing and consumer communications market, marketing integrated circuits, software, and reference designs for various applications.

    A spin-off of a spin-off. In 2001 Lucent Technologies spun-off its wholly-owned microelectronics subsidiary, naming it Agere Systems. The name came from a Lucent acquisition in 2000 of Agere, a small microelectronics company based in Texas. The name (pronounced a-GEAR) supposedly has its roots in the Latin verb "ago" that means "to lead, to drive, to act". Agere Systems was acquired by LSI Logic in 2007 after a short and rocky life.