Acer: Innovating the Future of Technology

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Electronic devices are one of the highly penetrated technical consumer products in households. Being the main driver of economic growth, the electronic industry enabled companies to design, manufacture, assemble, market, and service electronic products across the world.

Acer Inc. is one of the world’s most impressive ICT companies that is providing world-class, technologically advanced electronic products to consumers. Let’s uncover all crucial aspects of Acer Inc. – its startup story, founders, funding, products and services, and other details.

Acer – Highlights

Acer - About
Acer - Industry
Acer - Founders and Team
Acer - Startup Story
Acer - Mission and Vision
Acer - Name, Logo, and Tagline
Acer - Products and Services
Acer - Challenges Faced
Acer - Funding and Investments
Acer - Patents and Trademarks
Acer - Mergers and Acquisitions
Acer - Growth
Acer - Awards and Achievements
Acer - Competitors

Acer - About

Acer is a Taiwanese multinational, public hardware and electronics corporation that specializes in advanced electronics technology. Apart from selling core IT products, its new business entity is involved in the integration of cloud services and platforms, developing smartphones and wearable devices with value-added IoT applications. Its Predator brand provides gaming PCs and accessories.

The company is dedicated to the research, design, marketing, sales, and support of products and solutions to integrate people and technology.

It is one of the top ICT companies worldwide with a presence in over 160 countries, including North America, India, Indonesia, Australia, and Europe. In September 2022, the company was recognized as the world’s 5th largest PC vendor by unit sales.

Acer - Industry

The electronics industry is an important economic sector involved in producing electronic devices. The advent of technology and digitalization has further pushed the demand for electronic devices.

In 2019, the global consumer electronic market size was estimated to be $729.11 billion. However, amid pandemic the consumer electronics witnessed a negative demand shock across all regions due to Covid-19, and the market exhibited a decline of -5.4% in 2020. As per expert analysis, the market is projected to reach $989.37 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 5.3% during the 2020-2027 period.

Along with Acer, search Apple, Sony, Panasonic, search HP, Dell, Asus, and Lenovo are top electronic companies worldwide.

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Acer - Founders and Team

The company is founded by Stan Shih, Carplyn Yeh, and George Huang.

Stan Shih

Co-founder and Chairman of Acer Inc., Stan Shih graduated from National Chiao Tung University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electronic engineering. He retired in late 2004 and involved himself in charity work. However, in November 2013, he returned to the company after being reinstated as Honorary Chairman.

Carplyn Yeh

Spouse of Stan Shih, Carplyn Yeh is the co-founder of Acer. In 2019, Maverick Shih replaced Carplyn Yeh, as its representative on the board.

George Huang

Co-founder of Acer, George Huang serves as its CFO. In addition to this, he serves as the Chairman of Mondex Taiwan Inc. and EB-Easy and Vice Chairman of Taiwan Hong Yuan Investment Co. Ltd, Taiwan Fixed Network Co., and some other companies.

Presently, Jason Chen is the President and CEO of Acer. Talking about the company’s size, it has more than 8,000 employees.

Acer - Startup Story

Formerly established as Multitech, Acer was set up by Stan Shih, his wife Carolyn Yeh, and five others in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, in 1976. The company commenced with 11 employees and capital worth $25,000. Initially, it started its operation as a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant for utilizing microprocessor technologies.

in 1987, the company was renamed Acer and in 1998, it reorganized into five groups: Acer Sertek service Group, Acer International Service Group, Acer Information Products Group, Acer Peripheral Group, and Acer Semiconductor Group.

It spun off the contract business in 2000 which resulted in 2 primary units- contract manufacturing and brand name sales. The company sold its manufacturing units Wistron and BenQ in 2001 to focus its resources on design and sales.

In 2007, Acer bought Packard Bell in Europe and gateway in the US, making it the second-largest provider of notebooks and third-largest for computers. It announced the esports social platform PLANET9.gg in 2019, the main aim of which was to provide game analytics, social experiences, and community-organized competitions.

Acer - Mission and Vision

The mission of the company is to break barriers between people and technology. As Acer is evolving with the industry and changing lifestyles, it is focusing on creating a world where hardware, software, and services will fuse, leading to the curation of the ecosystem and new possibilities for both consumers and businesses.

Acer - Name, Logo, and Tagline

The visual identity design of Acer has always been laconic and minimalist. The first two versions of the company’s logo were created when it was known as Multitech (until 1987) and after its rebranding to Acer, another three versions of logo design were introduced.

The famous tagline of the company is ‘explore beyond limits.’

Acer - Products and Services

The company offers multiple electronics products featuring advanced technology and these are desktops & all-in-ones, smartphones, laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, monitors, projectors, smart devices, gaming PCs, and accessories.

Moreover, it provides multiple solutions, including TravelMate, Antimicrobial, military Standards, ChromeOS Enterprise, and Windows 11.

Acer - Challenges Faced

The late 1980s internal and external changes had a devastating effect on the company. There was once a time that price wars pushed component prices down and Acer posted its first-ever annual loss. In the mid-2000s, Acer’s North American market share slipped and its stock dropped to 50% of its IPO. The worse scenario was when Shih had to sell Acer’s headquarters for making profits in 1992.

Acer - Funding and Investments

Acer has been able to raise a total of $150.6 million in funding over 1 round. The Venture Series Unkown Round was undertaken on March 9, 2012. In addition, It has made 14 investments and the most recent one was on September 6, 2018, when Locix raised.

Acer - Patents and Trademarks

Its intellectual property presently has 1,350 registered patents, primarily in the category of ‘Computing’ and ‘calculating.’ Some patent titles for which it has applied or granted are Electronic Device and Speaker Module, the device of Handling PUSCH Transmissions, Electronic Device, notebook Computer, and Key Structure and Keyboard.

Moreover, the company has 211 registered trademarks categorized into the ‘Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments’ class.

Acer - Mergers and Acquisitions

Acer has acquired 7 companies and also has 1 divested asset. The largest acquisition of the company was in 2007 when it acquired Gateway Inc. for $710 million. Some other companies acquired are Counterpoint Computers, Altos Computer Corporation, Packard Bell, E-Ten, and iGware Inc.

Acer - Growth

For the year 2021, Acer’s revenue was estimated to be NT$319.01 billion, gross profits of NT$37.19 billion with an 11.7% margin, and also its operating income was NT$14.16 billion with a record-high 4.45 margin and 58.5% YOY growth.

Acer - Awards and Achievements

Its products have received prestigious awards from all around the world and some of these are:

• BIG Innovation 2023
• Red Dot Winner
• CES 2022 Innovations Award Honoree
• Taiwan Excellence 2022
• Design Award 2022
• Red Dot Winer 2021 Packaging Design
• COMPUTEX d&I Award 2021
• Good Design 2021

Acer - Competitors

Successfully running for almost 47 years now, Acer is giving tough competition to companies operating in similar industries. Some of its competitors are:

• Incotex Electronics Group
• American Megatrends
• Pegatron
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise
• Apple
• Lenovo
• Asus
• AOpen

FAQs

What is Acer and what does it do?

Acer is a global technology company that sells a wide range of electronic products and hardware, primarily in the computer industry. It designs and sells laptops, desktops, monitors, tablets, projectors, and accessories.

What are some of Acer's most popular products?

Acer offers a range of products across multiple categories, including laptops, desktops, monitors, projectors, tablets, and accessories. Some of Acer's most popular products include:

• Acer Aspire series laptops
• Acer Predator series gaming laptops and desktops
• Acer Nitro series gaming laptops and desktops
• Acer Swift series ultra-thin laptops
• Acer Chromebook laptops
• Acer Spin series 2-in-1 laptops
• Acer Predator series gaming monitors
• Acer Holo360 camera

How does Acer compare to other computer brands in terms of quality and price?

Acer's products are generally considered to be of good quality and competitive in price compared to other computer brands.