Ampro

Ampro Computers, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Computer systems, Embedded systems
Founded	1 January 1983 (1983-01-01) in Mountain View, California, United States
Founder	Rick Lehrbaum, David Feldman
Defunct	2008 (2008)
Fate	Acquired by ADLINK Technology Inc.
Headquarters	Mountain View , United States
Products	Embedded single-board computers (SBCs), PC/104 embedded system form factor
Number of employees	65 (peak), 36 (1992)

Ampro Computers, Inc., commonly referred to as Ampro, was an American manufacturer of computer systems based in Silicon Valley, operating from 1983 until 2008. The company was a trailblazer in embedded systems utilizing IBM PC architecture and is credited with creating the PC/104 embedded system form factor. In 2008, Taiwan's ADLINK acquired Ampro.

History

Established in 1983 in Mountain View, California by Rick Lehrbaum and David Feldman—both formerly associated with Telesensory Systems—Ampro initially focused on the microcomputer market priced under $1000. Lehrbaum took charge of engineering efforts, while Feldman handled sales and financial operations. Their inaugural product, the Little Board, was a compact single-board computer (SBC) powered by a Zilog Z80A processor running CP/M stored in ROM; users provided external power supplies, floppy disk drives, and terminals. This design later evolved into the cube-shaped Ampro Bookshelf Series 100, which incorporated dual 5.25-inch floppy drives. Early market penetration was driven by advertisements in Byte magazine.

With Apple II and IBM PC dominating the mid-1980s microcomputer landscape, Ampro redirected its business toward embedded SBCs. In 1985, the company introduced the Little Board/186 featuring an Intel 80186 CPU that supported IBM PC software compatibility except for direct video memory writes; output was delivered as ASCII to remote terminals. Built-in SCSI host adapters allowed for network connectivity. Later models incorporated Intel 80286 and 80386 processors to maintain compatibility with IBM PC AT standards and software ecosystems. Ampro also developed MiniModule mezzanine expansion boards that enhanced SBC functionality—such as graphics and modem capabilities—bringing features comparable to full-sized PCs.

In 1989, Ampro launched the Embedded UNIX Platform, marking the first embedded system to run Unix from ROM. This platform targeted industries like telecommunications, networking, and government agencies that relied heavily on Unix environments. Based on the Little Board 286 hardware, it supported Unix System V or XENIX operating systems.

October 1990 marked the introduction of the CoreModule series: smaller SBCs measuring 3.6 by 3.8 inches built on PC XT and AT architectures with CoreModule expansion options. Both Little Boards and CoreModules contributed to revenue growth from $1.6 million in 1986 to more than $14 million by 1990. The CoreModule/MiniModule architecture was formalized as the PC/104 standard in late 1991, emphasizing IBM PC compatibility with a 104-pin mezzanine connector interface. Ampro co-established the PC/104 Consortium alongside eleven other companies; membership expanded to over 150 firms by 2003.

In 1991, geopolitical events including the Gulf War caused a significant sales downturn of approximately 10%. The workforce shrank from 65 employees to 36 by 1992 amid layoffs that resulted in wrongful termination legal claims. Feldman left Ampro in 1995 to start ZF Micro Devices in Grass Valley, California; Lehrbaum then assumed the role of president.

The company was acquired in 2008 by Taiwan-based ADLINK Technology Inc., which broadened its embedded computing product range through this acquisition.

See also

• Embedded Platform for Industrial Computing (EPIC), an SBC form factor developed collaboratively by Ampro
• XTX, a computer-on-module specification co-developed by Ampro