Brand Introduction: Manufacturer ATI Technologies Inc

Located in Toronto, Canada, ATI Technologies Inc. is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of graphics processing units and chipsets that are mainly used in computers. The company was founded in 1985 and was listed in 1993. For many years, it has built a solid name, especially when it comes to the field of computer graphics. It operated as an independent fabless semiconductor company up to 2006 when it was officially acquired by AMD.

Beyond manufacturing computer graphic chipsets, ATI Technologies also participated in the research and development of computer graphics chips. It has made a significant contribution in this area thanks to the deep research that it has conducted. The company also used to participate in the assembling and outsourcing of the components that are used for the manufacturing of computer graphic chipsets.

ATI Technologies had two main business units: Consume business and PC business. Each unit specializes in its respective market segment. This segregation gave the manufacturer space to manufacture products that meet different consumer needs. For instance, high-end graphic chipsets were majorly targeted for business applications. They were embedded in PCs designed to perform heavy tasks. On the other hand, the consumer segment focused on small electronics such as smartphones and home appliances.

As the technology kept progressing over the years, the demand for better graphics processing units kept rising. This subsequently meant that there was a high demand for the graphics processors made by ATI. Becoming a dominant player in the electronics market was inevitable, thanks to the ever-increasing demand. However, some shakeups in the industry had a dire impact on the manufacturer. This provided a perfect opportunity for the acquisition by AMD in 2006. At that time, Nvidia was already becoming a dominant player in the industry. AMD was sure that by acquiring ATI, it would be in a perfect position to exert some significant force in the industry.

Special focus on graphics technology

For years, electronic devices and gadgets have depended on graphics. This is vital, especially on the user interface side of the device. This is a niche that ATI specializes in. Its graphics chipsets were used in different devices such as computers, handheld devices, video game consoles, desktops, laptops, and various integrated solutions that are widely featured in different application areas. The brand established itself as a world leader in designing and manufacturing graphic chips for electronic devices and appliances.

ATI had a dedicated 3D engineering group that released the Rage Pro line of graphics accelerators in 1997. This was the first graphics accelerator to offer motion compensation. DVD software. Also, the brand was the first company in the field of graphics to provide hardware support for DC acceleration and display. The company’s meteoritic rise to the top didn’t stop there. It became the first graphics company to support Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP 2). This was a high-speed channel that connected a graphics card to a motherboard in a computer. The primary goal of these channels was to enhance the processing speed of 3D graphics.

The direct impact of all these innovations is the company’s graphics cards became standard components in most computers. Computer manufacturers heavily relied on the graphics card made by ATI. Of course, this had a direct impact on the company’s revenue figures as they kept going up. The International Data Corporation ranked ATI as the top graphic card supplier in the world.

In the subsequent years, the brand continued releasing new graphics solutions for different devices and industries. Its g steady rise and growth to the top was also inspired by the numerous acquisitions that it made over the years. In 1998, ATI acquired Chromatic Research, Inc., a company that specializes in producing multimedia chips for low-end devices.

Products

Given that computer graphics is quite wide, which specific products are credited to ATI? Here is a list of the computer graphic chips that ATI manufactured:

· Graphics Solution/Small Wonder series

· EGA/ VGA wonder

· Mach Series graphics solutions

· Rage Series graphics solutions

· Rade Mobility graphics cards

· Radeon Series

· ATI CrossFire allowed the use of a secondary video card and PCI-E motherboard on compatible chipsets

· FirePro/FireGL Graphics

· FireMV graphic solutions that were used on workstations

The brand also manufactures graphics chipsets for multimedia and digital TV products. Some of the products under this category include:

· All-in-Wonder series which encompassed graphic cards that were designed for TV tuner

· TV Wonder chipsets

· HDTV Wonder chipsets

· Theater Wonder series of chipsets

· Remote Wonder chips that were embedded into wireless remote control series for ATI multimedia products

ATI also manufactures graphic cards for consoles. Flipper and Xenos are just some of the known names of the brand.

From this product list, it is evident that ATI is a major brand in the world of graphics technology.

AMD acquires ATI

As we have already mentioned, in 2006, ATI was eventually acquired by AMD in a deal that was valued at $5.4 billion. The acquisition was completed in October 2006 and meant that the whole ATI franchise was acquired by AMD. At the time of acquisition, the research and development team at ATI was working on an HD2900XTX graphics processing unit which was designed to utilize the R600 chipset.

Many industry experts opined that this acquisition would have a major impact on the semiconductor industry. This was true because Nvidia was getting ready to dominate the industry. AMD considered the deal vital as it expanded its market beyond PCs. It opened its doors into the mobile phones and handheld market.

With the acquisition, it meant that AM would be able to sell graphic chipsets and processors. This would automatically raise the company’s revenue and profit margin. Because ATI was already a dominant name in the semiconductor industry, AMD had an easy time to market their products even after the acquisition. Most of its chipsets were already used in different devices, both commercial and consumer. In 2005, a market research firm ranked ATI No.25 world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer.

Are you building a solution that requires high-end graphic performance and features? You should consider making ICRFQ your partner. As a reputable distributor of IC chipsets, we can source for you original graphics solutions made by ATI.