This Tiny TI Microcontroller Is as Small as a Pepper Flake

Texas Instruments has unveiled an incredibly small microcontroller—about the size of a black pepper flake—designed for compact devices like electric toothbrushes, stylus pens, and wearables.

Measuring just 1.38 square millimeters, this ultra-miniature MCU is part of TI’s Arm Cortex-based embedded lineup. Despite its tiny size, it packs a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter, 16KB of flash memory, 1KB of SRAM, and runs at 24MHz—making it a powerhouse for space-constrained applications.

Officially named the MSPM0C1104 (not the catchiest name, unfortunately), the microcontroller is priced at just 16 cents per unit for bulk orders of 1,000 or more. That means a company could kickstart a fleet of micro-sized robots for as little as $160.

TI is showcasing this cutting-edge MCU, along with other innovations, at Embedded World 2025 in Nuremberg, Germany.