FTDI
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductor industry |
| Founded | March 13, 1992 |
| Founder(s) | Fred Dart |
| Headquarters | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Website | www.ftdichip.com |
Future Technology Devices International, commonly known by its abbreviation, FTDI, is a Scottish privately held semiconductor device company, specializing in Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology. It develops, manufactures, and supports devices and their related software drivers for converting RS-232 or TTL serial transmissions to USB signals, in order to allow support for legacy devices with modern computers.
FTDI provides application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design services. They also provide consultancy services for product design, specifically in the realm of electronic devices. The company's flagship product is its FTDI Chip, an integrated circuit which is a common component on electronic devices using microcontrollers, such as the Arduino physical computing platform (up to before Arduino Uno).
FTDI's headquarters are in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, while it also has offices in Taipei, Taiwan and Portland, Oregon. The company's manufacturing division is handled by subcontractors in the Asia Pacific region.
The company sells its products to consumers via its website, but also sells in volume to retailers.
History
FTDI was founded on March 13, 1992 by its current CEO Fred Dart. The company is an indirect descendant of Computer Design Concepts Ltd, a former semiconductor technology startup, founded by Dart.
FTDI's initial products were chipsets for personal computer motherboards, the primary customer of which was IBM, which used them in its AMBRA and PS/1 personal computers. It later expanded its product line to include interface translators, such as the MM232R and the USB-COM232-PLUS1, along with other devices for converting between USB and other communication protocols.