Metheus

Metheus Corporation was founded in July 1981 in Hillsboro, Oregon,{{cite magazine | last=Staff writer | date=September 1985 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A3921037/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=3c0bee62 | title=Metheus Corporation | work=Computer Pictures | publisher=Access Intelligence | volume=3 | issue= | pages=62 et seq. | via=Gale}}{{cite news | last=Sorenson | first=Donald J. | date=March 8, 1982 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-ex-tektronix-employees-for/174772934/ | title=Ex-Tektronix employees form own high-tech firms | work=The Oregonian | page=D7 | via=Newspapers.com}} by six former employees of Tektronix, a nearby manufacturer of electronic test equipment headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.{{cite magazine | last=Benner | first=Susan | date=June 1984 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A3291098/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=d01f77fb | title=Life in the Silicon Rain Forest | work=Inc. | publisher=Mansueto Ventures | volume=6 | issue= | pages=112 et seq. | via=Gale}} Its principal founder was Gene Chao, a 20-year veteran of the electronics industry, with stints in both large corporations such as Tektronix as well as government organizations such as NASA, where he designed microwave transmission equipment for the apollo CSM and Lunar Module communications systems. Chao was Tektronix's head of applied research before he left to start Metheus. Other Metheus co-founders from Tektronix included Robert Bruce and C. Hock Leow. Despite the company being the progeny of Tektronix, Metheus made it a point not to poach anyone who worked at Tektronix unless they initiated the job inquiry. According to Inc., this was part of a gentleman's agreement between the two companies that also served to reduce the risk of lawsuits regarding breaches of trade secrets. The company was raised using the co-founders pool of money before they received their first round of venture capital funding in 1984 with US$11.5 million.{{cite magazine | last=Wallace | first=Richard | date=April 9, 1984 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A3219764/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=eafe9e2f | title=Cluster of Start-Ups Leap to Forefront in Computer-Aided Engineering with VLSI Design Tools | work=Electronic News | publisher=Sage Publishing | volume=30 | issue= | page=1 et seq. | via=Gale}}

In 1982, Metheus began production of their first and flagship family of video display controllers, which Metheus named the Omega line. The first entry in the series, the Omega 500, was released in the summer of 1983;{{cite magazine | last=Romans | first=Gary | date=July 1983 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A521297/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=8fda2593 | title=Color Graphics Display Controller | work=Computers in Mechanical Engineering | publisher=Springer-Verlag | volume=2 | issue=1 | page=87 | via=Gale}} it was capable of displaying graphics at a maximum resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels in 256 colors (from a palette of 16.7 million colors) with a 60-MHz refresh rate.{{cite magazine | last=Staff writer | date=September 1983 | url=http://www.bitsavers.org/magazines/Datamation/198309.pdf#page=220 | title=Graphics Controller | work=Datamation | publisher=Technical Publishing | volume=29 | issue=9 | pages=202–204 | via=World Radio History}}{{cite magazine | last=Costlow | first=Terry | date=August 4, 1983 | url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Electronic_Design/Z-8EAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Omega+500+,+Metheus%22&dq=%22Omega+500+,+Metheus%22&printsec=frontcover | title=Higher-Resolution Monitors and Terminals Lining Up for Coming CAD Systems | work=Electronic Design | publisher=31 | volume=16 | issue=16 | page=47 | via=Google Books | id={{Gale|A521297}} }} Metheus offered it both as a standalone device in its own case, akin to a graphics terminal, as well as the bare boards for connecting to a mainframe or mini.{{cite book | editor-last=Smith | editor-first=Alison | date=1985 | url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/CAD_International_Directory_1986/U-IgBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22metheus%22+%22Omega+500%22&pg=PA156&printsec=frontcover | title=CAD International Directory 1986 | publisher=Elsevier Science | page=156 | isbn=9781483161471 | via=Google Books}} It was designed around three 6-MHz Am2901 bit-slice microprocessors. The Omega 500 also provided a video mode with a resolution of 640 by 512 pixels with a greater color depth.

Metheus eventually expanded the Omega family to include expansion cards for the IBM PC and compatibles as well as VMEbus-based computer systems in the mid-1980s,{{cite magazine | last=Mokhoff | first=Nicolas | date=March 17, 1988 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A6495131/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=9ff4212b | title=Graphics Chips Forge High-res Boards for PCs, Workstations | work=Electronic Design | publisher=Endeavor Business Media | volume=36 | issue=6 | pages=62 et seq. | via=Gale}} starting with the Omega PC expansion card for the IBM PC AT in August 1985.{{cite magazine | last=Williams | first=T. | date=September 1, 1985 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A648508/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=d0caab5e | title=Graphics Controller Brings 1025 × 768 Pixels to IBM PC | work=Computer Design | publisher=PennWell Publishing | volume=24 | issue=11 | page=116 | via=Gale}} In October 1987, the company introduced the Ultra Graphics Accelerator (UGA) board. A competitor to IBM's own VGA, it supported the IBM PC XT and could display color graphics up to 1024 by 768 pixels. It also supported emulated CGA and EGA graphics.{{cite magazine | last=Staff writer | date=October 1987 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A6125290/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c0f3d440 | title=Graphics card offers high speed, low price | work=PC Week | publisher=Ziff-Davis | volume=4 | issue=42 | page=25 | via=Gale}} Software that supported UGA included, among others, Aldus PageMaker, Harvard Graphics, Ventura Publisher, AutoCAD, CADKEY, P-CAD, and VersaCAD; desktop environments that supported UGA included GEM and both Windows 1.0 and Windows/286.{{cite magazine | last=Webber | first=Julie | date=July 11, 1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5T4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24 | title=Metheus Graphics Board to Support Windows/286 | work=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=10 | issue=28 | page=24 | via=Google Books}}

The Omega family was preceded in release by the Lambda 750 in February 1983.{{cite magazine | last=Staff writer | date=February 1983 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A515793/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=87e548b6 | title=VLSI Development System by Metheus | work=Computer Graphics World | publisher=PennWell Publishing | volume=6 | issue=2 | page=14 | via=Gale}} The Lambda 750 was a dedicated graphical Unix workstation that made use of the company's proprietary Omega VDC.{{cite magazine | last=Schindler | first=Max | date=May 31, 1984 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A3285252/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=3e91cc8e | title=CAE Workstations Are Embracing Unix as Operating Systems Add Multitasking and Real-Time Data Acquisition | work=Electronic Design | publisher=Endeavor Business Media | volume=32 | issue= | pages=136 et seq. | via=Gale}} The Lamdba ran 4.1 BSD Unix between Motorola 68000 processors, one of which acted as the primary CPU and the other as an interface controller for memory and peripherals. As well as an interface controller, the second 68000 was also in charge of handling the graphical shell for the Unix installation. The Lamdba 750 was aimed at system integrators, who resold it as turnkey workstations for buyers from specific fields—not only CAD/CAM but also other scientific and industrial applications, including cartography, graphic design, imaging, and simulation. In late 1983, Metheus signed an agreement with GenRad to resell the latter company's HILO 2 logic simulation software. The Lambda proved fairly popular; in 1983, Metheus achieved sales of $6 million. In 1984, the company reached $14 million in sales across their entire product line and established their first international offices in England. By August 1985, they had over 100 employees from their 75,000-square-foot offices in Hillsboro.

In July 1984, Metheus spun off a portion of its workstation-manufacturing division to form a joint venture with Computervision, then the market leader in turnkey CAD/CAM systems.{{cite news | last=Staff writer | date=June 11, 1984 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A554474/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=9cfc0e2a | title=Metheus to Spin Out Group for Venture—With Computervision | work=Electronic News | publisher=Sage Publications | volume=30 | issue=1501 | page=77 | via=Gale}} This joint venture, known as Metheus-CV, Inc., allowed Computervision to compete in the low-end CAD/CAM and CAE markets, where Computervision lost ground to companies such as Mentor Graphics (Metheus' chief rival also co-founded by ex-Tektronix employees), Daisy Systems, and Valid Logic. Metheus received $10 million in cash in exchange for Computervision receiving a 20-percent stake in Metheus-CV.

In August 1986, Metheus released the first commercially available VDC capable of displaying graphics at a square 2K resolution with the Omega 3000. Its resolution maxed out at 2048 by 2048 pixels—exactly double that than the square 1K-resolution VDCs used throughout the graphical workstation industry—while its color depth maxed out at 6 bits (64 colors).{{cite magazine | last=Ohr | first=Stephan | date=August 7, 1986 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A4353292/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ad29ca2d | title=Speedy Graphics Engine Ushers in 2000-line Screens | work=Electronic Design | publisher=Endeavor Business Media | volume=34 | issue= | page=38 | via=Gale}}{{cite magazine | last=Wilson | first=Andrew C. | date=August 1988 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A6599874/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=69f40427 | title=Where are the 2K × 2K Display Controllers? | work=ESD | publisher=Sentry Technology Group | volume=18 | issue=8 | pages=36 et seq. | via=Gale}} Metheus aimed the Omega 3000 at the electronic publishing and weather radar fields. The Omega 3000 made use of custom GaAs ICs to handle the bandwidth of the maximum resolution as well as off-the-shelf parts from Motorola and AMD, including the 68020, the 68881, and the Am29325. Metheus collaborated with Sony to develop the Sony DDM-2801, a bespoke Trinitron-based display that could handle this resolution.{{cite magazine | last=Wilson | first=Andrew | date=September 1986 | url= | title=Controllers Turn to GaAs for 2048 × 2048 Displays | work=Digital Design | publisher=UBM Information | volume=16 | issue=10 | page=23 | via=Gale}} Metheus stood alone in the industry in offering a VDC capable of displaying such a high resolution until mid-1988, when competitors such as CalComp and Raytheon announced plans to develop similar VDCs.

Metheus's planned initial public offering was derailed by the Black Monday of October 1987, and in April 1988 they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, having fallen $10.6 million into debt owed to several hundreds of creditors.{{cite news | last=Hamburg | first=Ken | date=April 23, 1988 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-hillsboro-firm-seeks-prote/174795587/ | title=Hillsboro firm seeks protection | work=The Oregonian | page=E2 | via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite magazine | last=Wilkerson | first=Jan | date=October 10, 1988 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A6845340/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=5278d9b1 | title=Reorganized Metheus to 'stick to its knitting' | work=Business Journal-Portland | publisher=American City Business Journals | volume=5 | issue=33 | page=2 | via=Gale}} While sales in Metheus were strong, the company had never reported a profit in any quarter. The company attempted to reorganize before filing for Chapter 11 by shedding its loss-making Metheus-CV division, but by April the board of directors could not commit to a singular vision for Metheus's future.{{cite news | last=Staff writer | date=February 1, 1999 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian-tech-notes/174796872/ | title=Tech Notes | work=The Oregonian | page=B5 | via=Newspapers.com}} In October 1988, the company exited bankruptcy after finding a buyer in Singapore Technology Corporation, a holding company based in Singapore who paid off $2.52 million of the Metheus's debts in exchange for full ownership of the company. Following the acquisition, the company reported their first quarterly profit.

By the end of the 1990s, Metheus had pivoted to specialized high-performance graphics cards aimed at medical imaging needs, while also serving buyers in air traffic control and military surveillance. In January 1999, Barco Display Systems announced their acquisition of Metheus for an undisclosed amount. Barco's acquisition was largely fueled on the strength of Metheus's market share in medical imaging.{{cite magazine | last=Brock | first=Kathy | date=February 1999 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A54066908/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=59238864 | title=Graphics firm finds a sugar daddy overseas | work=Business Journal-Portland | publisher=American City Business Journals | volume=15 | issue=50 | pages=3 et seq. | via=Gale}} The acquisition was finalized in late February 1999.{{cite magazine | last=Staff writer | date=March 1, 1999 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/227292960/ | title=Barco's designs on US displays company come to fruition | work=Jane's International Defense Review | publisher=Jane's Information Group | volume=32 | issue=3 | page=1 | via=ProQuest}}

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• {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980110185954/http://metheus.com/|date=January 10, 1998|title=Official website}}

Category:1981 establishments in Oregon

Category:1999 disestablishments in Oregon

Category:1999 mergers and acquisitions

Category:American companies established in 1981

Category:American companies disestablished in 1999

Category:Computer companies established in 1981

Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1999

Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States

Category:Defunct computer hardware companies

Category:Graphics hardware companies