List of defunct graphics chips and card companies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of defunct graphics chips and card vendors.
During the 1980s and 1990s a relatively large number of companies appeared selling primarily 2D graphics cards, but later 3D also. Most of those companies have subsequently disappeared, as the increasing complexity of GPUs substantially increased research and development costs. Some of the companies went bankrupt. Some were bought out. Others sold out. Intel and Via Technologies remain as producers of primarily integrated solutions, while Matrox targets niche markets. Amongst the notable discrete graphics card vendors, ATI Technologies and NVIDIA are the only ones that have lasted[citation needed] (ATI was acquired by AMD in 2006).
[edit] Defunct Graphic chip vendors
These companies designed graphics chips.
- 3Dfx - was acquired by NVIDIA while on the verge of bankruptcy
- Ark Logic
- ArtX - acquired by ATI Technologies
- Bit Boys - acquired by ATI Technologies
- Chips and Technologies - acquired by Intel
- Chromatic Research acquired by ATI Technologies
- Cirrus Logic - no longer makes graphics chips
- GigaPixel acquired by 3Dfx
- IXMICRO - produced a videocards for Mac and Macintosh clones
- Oak Technology - acquired by Zoran Corporation
- OPTi Inc. - no longer makes graphics chips
- MOS Technology - produced the VIC and TED line of graphics chips, owned by Commodore International.
- Number Nine Visual Technology - sold to S3 Graphics
- PowerVR (licensing partner STMicroelectronics)
- Raycer - acquired by Apple Computer
- Real3D - acquired by Intel
- Rendition - acquired by Micron Technology
- Tseng Labs - sold their video chip assets to ATI Technologies in 1997
- Video 7 - bought by Headland Technologies, then by SPEA Software AG
[edit] Defunct Graphic card vendors
- Appian Graphics - acquired by ATi Technologies
- Boca Research - acquired by Zoom Telephonics
- Cardinal Technologies - bankrupt
- Diamond Multimedia - bought out by S3 Graphics, assets subsequently acquired by Best Data Products
- Genoa Systems - bankrupt
- Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. - acquired by ELSA technology, inc., then by Guillemot
- Media Vision - bankrupt
- Paradise Systems - acquired by Western Digital, then by Philips, then de-emphasized
- Orchid Technology - acquired by Micronics Computers, then by Diamond Multimedia
- STB Systems - acquired by 3Dfx
[edit] Other
The following companies are still in operation, but no longer design PC graphics chips:
- 3Dlabs - focusing on embedded and mobile graphic technologies
- Cirrus Logic - sold their video chip assets
- IIT Corp - reverted back to a video-conferencing solutions company, and then later a VOIP service provider
- Silicon Integrated Systems (SIS) - sold their video chip assets to XGI
- Trident Microsystems - sold their video chip assets to XGI
- UMC - became a custom-only fab and discontinued all of their standard products in the late 1990s
- Texas Instruments - withdrew from the computer market
- XGI - currently focusing on embedded and mobile applications