BusLogic

BusLogic, Inc.

Formerly	BusTek, Inc. (1988–1992)
Company type	Private
Industry	Computer
Founded	1988 (1988) in Santa Clara, California
Founders	Jesse Chen Peter H. Harvey
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Acquired by Mylex Corporation
Products	Device controllers
Number of employees	140 (1995, peak)

BusLogic, Inc.—initially known as BusTek, Inc.—was a U.S.-based computer hardware firm that operated from 1988 until 1996. The company focused on producing SCSI controller chips and expansion cards, establishing itself as a major contender second only to Adaptec. In 1996, BusLogic was purchased by Mylex Corporation.

Establishment and Early Years (1988–1993)

Founded in 1988 in Santa Clara, California, BusLogic began its journey under the name BusTek, Inc., established by Jesse Chen and Peter H. Harvey. Both founders brought experience from their previous roles at Scientific Micro Systems, a semiconductor fabrication company in Silicon Valley. They launched the venture with an initial investment of $40,000.

The company's inaugural product was a direct memory access (DMA) controller designed for desktop PCs. This innovation led to a partnership with NCR Corporation, which licensed BusTek to produce and distribute the chip through NCR Microelectronics. Debuting in late 1989 under the model number 86C05, this controller supported various bus architectures including Micro Channel architecture, NuBus, ISA, and EISA.

In September 1990, BusTek introduced the BT-742A—the industry's first bus-mastering SCSI host adapter tailored for EISA platforms—powered by their proprietary 80C10 ASIC. This product filled a critical niche as EISA vied against IBM's exclusive Micro Channel architecture. By the close of 1990, BT-742A sales had generated approximately $1 million. The following year saw an expanded lineup featuring the BT-747S/BT-747D and BT-542S/BT-542D Fast and Wide SCSI adapters utilizing the 80C20 ASIC for PC/AT compatibles and EISA systems; the suffixes "S" and "D" identified single-ended versus differential SCSI interfaces. BusTek’s revenue escalated to $10 million by the end of 1991.

In July 1992, BusTek acquired Chantal Systems, a San Diego-based RAID software developer that had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This strategic acquisition not only broadened BusTek’s offerings into software but also prompted a corporate rebranding to BusLogic. The eight employees from Chantal integrated into BusLogic’s workforce. By year-end, the company’s revenue had surged to $20 million.

By early 1993, BusLogic began offering combined solutions that bundled their bus-mastering Fast SCSI host adapters—compatible with ISA, Micro Channel, or EISA buses—with Chantal’s Paragon RAID software. These RAID systems gained significant adoption across sectors such as healthcare facilities, academic institutions, and various industries, supporting up to 800 simultaneous users.

In November 1993, BusLogic unveiled its first SCSI RAID controllers: the DA-2788 model for EISA slots and the DA-2988/DA-4988 series for PCI interfaces—marking its initial entry into PCI-based products.

Expansion and acquisition (1993–1996)

By the close of 1993, with Chantal joining the team, BusLogic had grown to 95 employees and achieved $15 million in revenue, positioning itself as a leading contender in the SCSI adapter market alongside rivals Adaptec and Future Domain. The company diversified its product range beyond SCSI with the introduction of the KT series cache controller cards for IDE hard drives in January 1994, compatible with ISA, PCI, and VESA Local Bus (VLB)—marking BusLogic’s inaugural venture into VLB technology.

In June 1994, BusLogic unveiled MultiMaster technology, an innovative ASIC consolidating essential logic for major desktop bus architectures (ISA, VLB, EISA). This advancement streamlined device driver deployment by emphasizing compatibility with various operating systems. By the end of 1994, BusLogic ranked as the second-largest producer of SCSI silicon after Adaptec, offering a portfolio of 25 products and operating from a 36,000-square-foot headquarters staffed by 130 employees, including 50 engineers. The company maintained a network of offices across the United States and internationally in Boston, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Taipei, Hong Kong, Paris, and Tokyo.

Although competition intensified following Adaptec’s acquisitions of smaller firms such as Future Domain and Trantor Systems, BusLogic recorded $24 million in sales during 1995 and expanded its workforce to a peak of 140 employees. The firm pursued growth in Europe with plans to establish offices in Germany and the United Kingdom while preparing to enter the Fibre Channel market—targeting storage area networks—with product launches scheduled for 1996.

Prior to releasing Fibre Channel solutions, BusLogic was acquired by Mylex Corporation in December 1995 through a stock exchange initially valued at $55 million. The transaction finalized in January 1996 with terms increasing to more than $67.9 million due to additional stock options granted to BusLogic shareholders. Mylex retained BusLogic’s manufacturing facility in Santa Clara to continue production of RAID products.

After acquisition (since 1996)

Following the sale of BusLogic to Mylex, co-founder Harvey established Creative Design Solutions, focusing on network-attached storage servers and LAN hardware.

Mylex initially experienced growth from the acquisition, with revenues climbing from approximately $100 million in mid-1995 to $173 million by mid-1996. However, in July 1996, Mylex’s share price sharply declined after key customers began developing proprietary RAID controllers or collaborating with competitor Adaptec. This downturn led to sustained sales challenges that prompted layoffs and ultimately resulted in the closure of the former BusLogic manufacturing site by July 1997.

Significantly, BusLogic’s device drivers continue to play a vital role within Oracle Corporation’s VirtualBox software as of 2023, serving as the sole method for emulating SCSI devices within virtual machine environments.