Paradise Systems

Paradise Systems, Inc.

Company type	Subsidiary (1986–1995)
Industry	Computer hardware
Founded	1982 in San Francisco, United States
Founder	Paul Jain
Defunct	1996
Fate	Ceased operations
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Paul Jain (founder), Lawrence Finch (president and CEO from 1984)
Products	Video controllers, graphics adapter cards
Owner	Western Digital (1986–1995), Philips (1995–1996)

Paradise Systems, Inc. was a United States-based producer of video controllers and graphics adapter cards, active from 1982 until 1996. The firm, founded by Paul Jain in San Francisco, became a subsidiary of Western Digital in 1986. It was subsequently acquired by Philips in 1995 and ultimately ceased operations in 1996.

Independent period (1982–1986)

Founded in 1982 by entrepreneur Paul Jain, Paradise Systems concentrated on developing graphics hardware, supported by a proficient engineering team. Its initial offering, the Multi-Display Adapter for the IBM PC, debuted in late 1983 and enabled support for digital CGA, analog composite, and monochrome display outputs simultaneously. Although users could switch between these displays via software controls, the product did not facilitate true multi-monitor functionality.

In 1984, the company launched the Modular Graphics Card, an expansion card compatible with CGA that worked with MDA monitors, rendering CGA's sixteen colors as varying monochrome shades without requiring extra drivers. That same year, Lawrence Finch succeeded Jain as president and CEO, steering the company’s strategic direction during its formative growth stage.

Western Digital ownership (1986–1995)

In October 1986, Western Digital, which was expanding its disk controller manufacturing business, acquired Paradise Systems through a stock transaction valued between $50 million and $80 million. Paradise continued to function as an independently managed subsidiary, maintaining its brand identity for video controllers and graphics adapters.

Paul Jain departed from Paradise in 1987 to pursue his new enterprise, Video Seven, which was later purchased by LSI Logic for $50 million. He went on to establish Media Vision in 1990. Following Western Digital’s acquisition of Verticom Inc. in 1988, Paradise was merged into Western Digital Imaging around 1989. Despite this consolidation, products under the Paradise brand persisted and expanded into the nascent market of 3D accelerator chips.

Philips ownership (1995–1996)

Although the graphics division generated $100 million in revenue during 1994, Western Digital’s strategic priorities diverged from maintaining this segment. Consequently, it sold the division to Dutch corporation Philips in October 1995 for an undisclosed amount. Philips rebranded the unit as Paradise but significantly downsized its staff over subsequent months. In August 1996, Philips announced the discontinuation of the Paradise division, marking the end of its operations.