Alaris, Inc.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware, Computer software |
| Founded | January 1, 1991 Fremont, California, United States |
| Founder | Raymond Yu |
| Fate | Acquired in 2002 |
| Headquarters | Fremont , United States |
| Products | Motherboards, Graphics cards, Videogram video compression software, QuickVideo DVC I webcam |
Alaris, Inc., established by Raymond Yu in 1991 in Fremont, California, was a U.S.-based firm specializing in computer hardware and software until its 2002 acquisition. The company initially focused on high-performance motherboards utilizing x86 and PowerPC architectures, manufactured by IBM for both aftermarket upgrades and original equipment manufacturers. After a brief stint producing proprietary computer systems, Alaris shifted its emphasis in 1996 to software development with the introduction of the Videogram video compression suite, designed for low-bandwidth environments.
Hardware products (1991–1996)
Alaris maintained a low profile during its first two years before revealing in 1993 a major agreement with IBM to fabricate motherboards based on Alaris’s designs at IBM’s Microelectronics facilities. Valued at $127 million, this contract encompassed several hundred thousand units, positioning Alaris as one of IBM’s largest clients and a leading supplier of IBM’s x86 processors. Raymond Yu viewed IBM not simply as a manufacturer but as a strategic ally.
The company’s debut motherboard, named Leopard and released in 1993, featured the IBM 486SLC2 processor running at 66 MHz, eight ISA expansion slots (including two supporting VLB), and memory capacity up to 16 MB RAM. Its successor, the Cougar motherboard, incorporated IBM’s "Blue Lightning" 486BL processor clocked at 75 MHz and offered upgrade paths such as a Pentium OverDrive socket. Alaris integrated the Cougar board into its Cougar EnergySmart PC BL3X/75 system launched in 1994, which garnered favorable industry feedback for both its performance metrics and energy efficiency.
In 1994, Alaris rolled out the Leopard Plus motherboard with upgraded specifications including a Pentium OverDrive socket, an extra VLB slot, a flash-upgradable BIOS ROM, and compatibility with EnergySmart power-saving software. That same year, Alaris was among the first manufacturers outside the AIM alliance to announce PowerPC-based desktop machines, aligning with IBM’s OS/2 PowerPC and Microsoft’s Windows NT 3.5 for PowerPC platforms.
November 1994 marked the introduction of the Cian computer series featuring modular bus architecture that enabled users to upgrade from x86/ISA to PowerPC/PCI configurations through riser cards. Additionally, Alaris was an early adopter in shipping systems equipped with NexGen’s Nx586 processors—rivals to Intel’s Pentium—starting with models running at 60 and 66 MHz in late 1994 and advancing to 100 MHz by 1995. Acting as NexGen’s principal developer for OEM motherboard designs, Alaris also supplied other companies such as Aberdeen, Blackship, Datastor, Duracom, Maximus, and Tangent.
Broadening its hardware lineup, Alaris launched graphics cards beginning with the Stinger PCI card in early 1995. Utilizing S3’s Vision864 GPU paired with 1 MB of VRAM (expandable to 2 MB), the Stinger supported resolutions up to 1600×1200 pixels. Later that year came the Matinee PCI graphics card featuring 2 MB of VRAM.
This period of hardware innovation established a solid foundation for Alaris’s growth through strategic alliances and product diversification across processor and graphics technologies prior to its eventual pivot toward software offerings.
Videogram (1996–2002)
In 1996, Alaris redirected its efforts from designing motherboards and graphics cards toward creating software that compressed digital video optimized for the hardware capabilities of that era. That same year, the company recruited Ilya Asnis, an immigrant from Saint Petersburg, who developed Videogram—a software suite that converted video into compact file sizes suitable for sending as email attachments. Launched in March 1996, the Videogram package consisted of the Videogram Player for video playback, the Videogram Packager for video transcoding, and the Quick Video Transport ISA TV tuner designed to capture composite video signals. The Packager was capable of reducing 5-MB videos to just 210 KB while maintaining a resolution of 320×240 pixels at 15 frames per second. Unlike the majority of codecs available then, Alaris created its codec internally without relying on MPEG standards.
By August 1996, Alaris rolled out a professional edition aimed specifically at the industrial sector for web video streaming applications. Later that year, the company briefly returned to the computer hardware market through a collaboration with Motorola to manufacture PowerPC motherboards based on Motorola’s Yellowknife reference design; however, this original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnership was short-lived.
In February 1998, Alaris introduced the QuickVideo DVC I webcam, offering a resolution of 508×492 pixels at a frame rate of 30 fps with 24-bit color depth. This device was packaged alongside Videogram Creator software, which integrated both Player and Packager features.
The company’s expansion ultimately led to its acquisition by a major Japanese electronics corporation in 2002, marking a pivotal event in its corporate development and international presence.