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By the early 1980s gate arrays were starting to move out of their niche applications to the general market. Several factors in technology and markets were converging. Size and performance were increasing; automation was maturing; technology became "hot" when in 1981 IBM introduced its new flagship [[IBM 308X|3081]] mainframe with CPU comprising gate arrays,; they were used in a consumer product, the ZX81; and new entrants to the market increased visibility and credibility.<ref>{{cite book |first=Chris |last=Smith |title=The ZX Spectrum ULA: How To Design A Microcomputer |publisher=ZX Design and Media |oclc=751703922 |date=2010 |isbn=9780956507105 |pages= |url=http://www.zxdesign.info/book/insideULA.shtml}}</ref>
In 1981, [[Wilfred Corrigan]], Bill O'Meara, Rob Walker, and Mitchell "Mick" Bohn founded [[LSI Corporation|LSI Logic]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102746194|title=LSI Logic oral history panel {{!}} 102746194|website=Computer History Museum|access-date=2018-01-28}}</ref> Their initial intention was to commercialize emitter coupled logic gate arrays, but discovered the market was quickly moving towards CMOS. Instead they licensed CDI's silicon gate CMOS line as a second source. This product established them in the market while they developed their own proprietary 5 micron 2-layer metal line. This latter product line was the first commercial gate array product amenable to full automation. LSI developed a suite of proprietary development tools that allowed users to design their own chip from their own facility by remote login to LSI Logic's system.
[[Sinclair Research]] ported an enhanced [[Sinclair ZX80|ZX80]] design to a ULA chip for the [[Sinclair ZX81|ZX81]], and later used a ULA in the [[ZX Spectrum]]. A compatible chip was made in Russia as T34VG1.<ref>[[:ru:Т34ВГ1|Т34ВГ1]] — article about the ZX Spectrum ULA compatible chip {{in lang|ru}}</ref> [[Acorn Computers]] used several ULA chips in the [[BBC Micro]], and later a single ULA for the [[Acorn Electron]]. Many other manufacturers from the time of the [[home computer]] boom period used ULAs in their machines. The [[IBM PC]] took over much of the personal computer market, and the sales volumes made full-custom chips more economical. Commodore's Amiga series used gate arrays for the Gary and Gayle custom-chips, as their code-names may suggest.
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