History
Acorn Computers Limited, founded in Cambridge in 1978, has grown to be an internationally recognised market leader in innovative personal computer products and services. Acorn is unique in being the only designer and manufacturer of RISC personal computers in Europe. With more than 400,000 RISC-based computers used worldwide in educational, consumer, corporate and publishing markets, not only is Acorn the number one supplier of computer systems to UK schools, it was the first company in the world to design and sell a low-cost, personal computer based on a 32- bit RISC chip.
Acorn Computers has been a leading supplier of multimedia-capable personal computer systems since 1986 when it was a partner with Philips and the British Broadcasting Corporation in the Domesday project. Today, Acorn generates an annual turnover in excess of £50 million and supports an industry valued at approximately £300 million. With headquarters in Cambridge, the company also has offices in Australia and New Zealand.
Acorn's range of 32-bit RISC computers is built around the family of advanced processors designed and developed by ARM Ltd. These processors provide a unique combination of high performance, low cost, and low power consumption and are ideally suited to meet the needs of Acorn's customers.
Acorn has a community of partners and is working with leading organisations including: Aleph One, Cumana Ltd, Computer Concepts, Eastman Kodak, Future Technology Devices International, IBM, Longman Logotron, Microsoft, Microvitec, Thomas Nelson, and Tesco Stores.
Organisational structure
From 12th September 1995, Acorn Computer Group comprises three operating divisions - Acorn Education, Applied Risc Technologies and Online Media. The group also owns a 43% shareholding in Advance RISC Machines (ARM) Ltd.
Olivetti Telemedia have a 57% shareholding in Acorn Computer Group plc.
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