# ATI Technologies > Canadian technology corporation **Wikidata**: [Q213849](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213849) **Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_Technologies) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/ati-technologies ## Summary ATI Technologies was a Canadian technology corporation founded in August 1985 and headquartered in Markham, Ontario, that specialized in the design and manufacture of computer hardware, particularly graphics processing units (GPUs) and chipsets. The company was acquired by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in 2006 and was officially dissolved on August 30, 2010, with its operations and product lines, including the Radeon brand, fully integrated into AMD. ## Key Facts * **Official Names:** ATI Technologies ULC, ATI Technologies Inc., Array Technologies Inc., Array Technology Inc. * **Inception:** August 1985. * **Dissolution:** August 30, 2010. * **Headquarters:** Markham, Ontario, Canada (located in the Greater Toronto Area). * **Country of Origin:** Canada. * **Industry:** Computer hardware, semiconductor industry, electrical industry. * **Primary Products:** Graphics processing units (GPUs), video cards, chipsets, and computer hardware components. * **Acquirer:** Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), acquired in 2006. * **Successor:** AMD (replaced ATI Technologies as the operating entity). * **Founders:** Kwok Yuen Ho (also known as K.Y. Ho). * **Employee Count:** Approximately 2,700 employees (at the time of dissolution/acquisition context). * **Revenue:** $1,996,700,000 (historical figure provided in source). * **Net Profit:** $204,799,000 (historical figure provided in source). * **Parent Organization:** Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). * **Key Brands/Products:** Radeon (launched April 1, 2000), ATI Mach, ATI Rage, ATI Wonder series, ATI Xenos (R500), ATI Avivo, TeraScale microarchitecture. * **Technologies Developed:** Close to Metal (CTM) low-level GPGPU interface, ATI Stream, Brook+. * **Collaborations:** Development partner for Folding@home (alongside Sony Group and Nvidia). * **Identifiers:** * Wikidata ID: Q128896 * Freebase ID: /m/01824j, /m/09m_x4v * PCI Vendor ID: 1022 * Legal Entity Identifier: CA0019151052, CA0019411036 * Stock Tickers: ATYT:US, 0890922D:CN * ISIN: CA0019151052, CA0019411036 * **Website:** http://www.ati.com/, http://ati.amd.com/ * **Aliases:** ATI, Array Technologies Incorporated, Array Technology Incorporated. ## FAQs **What was the primary business focus of ATI Technologies?** ATI Technologies was a Canadian corporation dedicated to the design and manufacturing of computer hardware, with a specific emphasis on graphics processing units (GPUs), video cards, and chipsets for the semiconductor and computer industries. **When was ATI Technologies founded and when did it cease to exist as an independent entity?** The company was established in August 1985 and operated independently until it was acquired by AMD; it was officially dissolved on August 30, 2010, after its assets and brands were fully integrated into the parent company. **Who founded ATI Technologies and where was it based?** ATI Technologies was founded by Kwok Yuen Ho (K.Y. Ho) and was headquartered in Markham, Ontario, a city within the Greater Toronto Area of Canada. **What happened to ATI's product lines after the acquisition by AMD?** Following the acquisition, ATI's product lines, including the Radeon brand of GPUs and various microarchitectures like TeraScale, were continued and developed under AMD, with the ATI brand name eventually being phased out in favor of AMD branding. **Did ATI Technologies contribute to scientific computing or gaming hardware?** Yes, ATI developed hardware for gaming, such as the ATI Xenos GPU used in the Xbox 360, and also contributed to scientific computing by serving as a development partner for the Folding@home distributed computing project alongside Sony and Nvidia. **What were some of the unique technologies developed by ATI?** ATI pioneered several technologies including the Close to Metal (CTM) low-level programming interface for GPGPU, the ATI Avivo set of hardware features, and the TeraScale microarchitecture family. ## Why It Matters ATI Technologies played a pivotal role in the evolution of the personal computer graphics industry, transitioning from a niche manufacturer to one of the two dominant forces in the GPU market alongside NVIDIA. Its development of the Radeon brand in 2000 provided a critical alternative architecture that drove competition, innovation, and price reductions in the graphics card market for over a decade. The company's technological contributions extended beyond consumer gaming; its Xenos GPU defined the graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360 generation, and its Close to Metal interface laid early groundwork for general-purpose computing on GPUs (GPGPU) before the widespread adoption of OpenCL. The acquisition of ATI by AMD in 2006 was a landmark event in the semiconductor industry, creating a vertically integrated company capable of producing both central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs). This merger fundamentally altered the competitive landscape, allowing for tighter integration of CPU and GPU technologies (APUs) and enabling AMD to compete more effectively against Intel and NVIDIA. ATI's legacy persists in the modern computing ecosystem through the continued use of the Radeon brand, the architectural foundations of modern AMD GPUs, and the widespread adoption of technologies like FreeSync and advanced video processing features that originated in the ATI era. ## Notable For * **Founding the Radeon Brand:** Launching the Radeon line of GPUs on April 1, 2000, which became a major competitor to NVIDIA's GeForce series. * **Xbox 360 Graphics:** Designing and manufacturing the ATI Xenos (R500) GPU, the custom graphics processor that powered the Xbox 360 console. * **GPGPU Pioneering:** Developing Close to Metal (CTM), a low-level API that allowed for direct hardware control for general-purpose computing, predating standardized open APIs. * **Scientific Collaboration:** Serving as a key development partner for Folding@home, enabling GPU-accelerated protein folding simulations alongside Sony and Nvidia. * **Microarchitecture Innovation:** Creating the TeraScale family of GPU microarchitectures, which succeeded the R300 and R500 series and introduced advanced shader models. * **Video Technology:** Introducing ATI Avivo, a suite of hardware and software features designed to enhance video playback and processing quality. * **Strategic Acquisition:** Being acquired by AMD in 2006, a move that created a major "CPU+GPU" competitor in the semiconductor market. * **Canadian Tech Hub:** Operating as a significant technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, contributing to Canada's reputation in the semiconductor sector. ## Body ### History and Corporate Evolution ATI Technologies was incorporated in August 1985 in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Founded by Kwok Yuen Ho, the company grew from a small startup into a global leader in graphics processing. The company operated under various legal names, including ATI Technologies ULC, ATI Technologies Inc., Array Technologies Inc., and Array Technology Inc. Throughout its history, ATI maintained its headquarters in Markham, a city in the Greater Toronto Area known for its high-tech industry presence. The company's trajectory changed significantly in 2006 when it was acquired by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). This acquisition was a strategic move to combine AMD's CPU expertise with ATI's GPU capabilities. Following the acquisition, ATI continued to operate as a subsidiary for a period before being fully integrated. The entity was officially dissolved on August 30, 2010, marking the end of ATI as an independent corporate structure. Its assets, intellectual property, and product lines were absorbed by AMD, which continues to develop the technologies originally pioneered by ATI. ### Product Lines and Graphics Hardware ATI Technologies was best known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) and video cards. The company launched the **Radeon** brand on April 1, 2000, which became its flagship product line. The Radeon series encompassed various generations of GPUs, including the **R300**, **Radeon R100**, **Radeon R200**, and the **ATI Wonder series**. These products competed directly with NVIDIA's GeForce series in the consumer and professional markets. A significant milestone in ATI's product history was the development of the **ATI Xenos** (also known as R500 or Radeon R500). This custom GPU was designed specifically for the **Xbox 360** console. The Xenos functioned as a specialized graphics accelerator and vector processor, enabling the console's high-definition graphics capabilities. It is classified as a graphics processing unit model and a subclass of the broader GPU category. Other notable hardware series included the **ATI Mach** and **ATI Rage** series of video cards, which were popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The company also developed the **TeraScale** microarchitecture, a family of GPU architectures that succeeded earlier designs and introduced advanced features for gaming and professional visualization. ### Software and Programming Interfaces ATI Technologies was not limited to hardware; it also developed significant software and programming interfaces. One of its most notable contributions was **Close to Metal (CTM)**, a low-level programming interface and application programming interface (API) designed for general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU). CTM provided minimal abstraction from the hardware, allowing developers to have direct control over GPU resources. It was also known by aliases such as **Thin Hardware INterface (THIN)**, **Data Parallel Virtual Machine**, **Technologie ATI Stream™**, **ATI Stream**, and **Brook+**. The company also developed **ATI Avivo**, a set of hardware and low-level software features designed to improve video playback and processing. Additionally, ATI contributed to the **Folding@home** project, a volunteer distributed computing initiative simulating protein folding. ATI, along with Sony Group and Nvidia, served as a development partner, providing hardware support and optimization for the project's scientific simulations. ### Technologies and Architectures ATI's technological portfolio included several key innovations: * **TeraScale:** A codename for a family of GPU microarchitectures that offered improved performance and efficiency. * **GDDR3 Support:** ATI utilized GDDR3, a type of SDRAM specifically designed for GPUs, to enhance memory bandwidth and performance in its video cards. * **Adreno Origins:** The technology that would become Qualcomm's Adreno GPU series originated from ATI's **Imageon** series. After AMD acquired ATI, Qualcomm acquired the mobile GPU division and rebranded the technology as Adreno. * **Streaming Technologies:** ATI Stream was a technology platform that enabled GPGPU computing, evolving from the Close to Metal interface. ### Corporate Structure and Financials At the time of its dissolution, ATI Technologies reported a revenue of approximately $1.99 billion and a net profit of around $204 million. The company employed approximately 2,700 people. It was classified as a business, enterprise, and technology company operating within the electrical, semiconductor, and computer industries. The company's legal form was a corporation, and it was a subsidiary of AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) prior to its full integration. AMD, an American multinational semiconductor company founded in 1969, acquired ATI to expand its product portfolio. Following the acquisition, AMD became the owner of the Radeon brand and the rights to ATI's intellectual property. ### Geographic and Administrative Context ATI Technologies was headquartered in **Markham, Ontario**, Canada. Markham is a large city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with a population of over 338,000 (as of the 2021 census). The city was founded in 1794 and is named after John Markham. Markham serves as a lower-tier municipality within the Regional Municipality of York and is a significant hub for technology companies in Canada. The city's coordinates are 43.8833° N, 79.25° W, and it operates in the Eastern Time Zone. ### Identifiers and Digital Presence ATI Technologies is identified in various knowledge bases and registries: * **Wikidata:** Q128896 * **Freebase:** /m/01824j, /m/09m_x4v * **PCI Vendor ID:** 1022 * **Stock Tickers:** ATYT:US, 0890922D:CN * **Legal Entity Identifiers:** CA0019151052, CA0019411036 * **Websites:** http://www.ati.com/, http://ati.amd.com/ * **Aliases:** ATI, Array Technologies Incorporated, Array Technology Incorporated The company's legacy is preserved in the continued development of the Radeon brand by AMD and the widespread use of technologies originally developed by ATI in modern computing systems. ## References 1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013 2. [ATIT 1030 AR04Sedar](http://www.ati.com/companyinfo/ir/2004/ATI2004.pdf) 3. [Source](http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids) 4. Quora 5. [Source](https://golden.com/wiki/ATI_Technologies-XY9RZ)