Micro-Star International

## Micro Star International (MSI)

**Micro-Star International Co., Ltd** (**MSI**; Chinese: 微星科技股份有限公司) is a Taiwanese multinational information technology corporation headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan. It designs, develops and provides computer hardware, related products and services, including laptops, desktops, motherboards, graphics cards, All-in-One PCs, servers, industrial computers, PC peripherals, car infotainment products, etc.

The company has a primary listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and was established on August 4, 1986 by 5 founders – Hsu Xiang (a.k.a. Joseph Hsu),[ Huang Jinqing (a.k.a. Jeans Huang), Lin Wentong (a.k.a. Frank Lin), Yu Xian'neng (a.k.a. Kenny Yu),[and Lu Qilong (a.k.a. Henry Lu). First starting its business in New Taipei City, Taiwan, MSI later expanded into China, setting up its Baoan Plant in Shenzhen in 2000 and establishing research and development facilities in Kunshan in 2001. It also provides global warranty service in North America, Central/South America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

The company has been a sponsor for a number of esports teams and is also the host of the international gaming event MSI Masters Gaming Arena (formerly known as MSI Beat IT).The earliest Beat IT tournament can be traced back to 2010, featuring Evil Geniuses winning the championship.

## Products

The company first built its reputation on developing and manufacturing computer motherboardsand graphics cards. It established its subsidiary FUNTORO in 2008 for the vehicle infotainmentmarket. It provides products ranging from laptops, desktops, monitors, motherboards, graphics cards, power supply, computer cases and liquid cooler for gamers and content creators, to all-in-one PCs, mobile workstations, servers, IPCs, multimedia peripherals, vehicle infotainment, and an autonomous mobility robot.

When established in 1986, MSI focused on the design and manufacturing of motherboards and add-on cards. Later that year, it introduced the first overclockable 286 motherboard.

In 1989, MSI introduced its first 486 motherboard; in 1990 it introduced its first Socket 7 based motherboard, and in 1993, its first 586 motherboard; in 1995, its Dual Pentium Pro-based motherboard. In 1997 it introduced its Intel Pentium II-based motherboard with Intel MMX Technology, along with its first graphics card product, and its first barebone product; in 2002, its first PC2PC Bluetooth & WLAN motherboard.[

In 2000, MSI introduced its first set-top box product (MS-5205). In 2003, its first Pen Tablet PC product (PenNote3100), and in 2004, its first Notebook product (M510C). In 2009, MSI introduced its first Ultra Slim Notebook (X320), and first All-in-One PC (AP1900).

MSI released their first digital audio player in 2003, in a line called MEGA.

In 2008, MSI sponsored Fnatic and dived into the PC gaming market. Its GAMING series features laptops, desktops, motherboards, graphic cards, All-in-One PCs and gaming peripherals designed for gamers and power users.

In 2015, MSI teamed up with eye-tracking tech firm Tobii for the creation of eye-tracking gaming laptops.

In early 2016, MSI announced a collaboration with HTC and has revealed Vive-ready systems to offer Virtual Reality experiences.

MSI expanded its scope of business into Content Creation in 2018 and demonstrated creator-centric laptops at IFA 2018.

MSI Optix MPG27CQ Gaming Monitor was the recipient of the 27th Taiwan Excellence Gold & Silver Awards.

## History

MSI's five founders Joseph Hsu, Jeans Huang, Frank Lin, Kenny Yu and Henry Lu all worked for Sony electronics company before establishing MSI. Sony's corporate downsizing in 1985 brought them together. With the engineering background working for Sony, they established Micro Star International together in August 1986.

In 1997, MSI inaugurated its Plant I in Zhonghe; in 2000, it inaugurated its Plant III in Zhonghe.

In 1998, it became a public company with an IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the Taipei Stock Exchange (TAIEX).

In 2000, MSI Computer (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. was founded, and in 2001, MSI Electronics (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.

In 2002, MSI set up its European logistics center in the Netherlands.

In 2003, MSi released the "Mega PC", a shelf stereo computer hybrid with a front panel resembling the former and desktop computer connectors on the rear.

In 2008, MSI was ranked among the Top 20 Taiwan Global Brands. In 2011, the firm was named one of the Top 100 Taiwan Brands, distinguished among 500 brands. By 2013, MSI has been awarded from Taiwan Excellence for 15 consecutive years.

In 2015, MSI was ranked the fourth-best laptop brand of 2015 by *Laptop* magazine.

According to research, MSI was the largest gaming laptop supplier worldwide in 2016.

MSI launched "Join the Dragon" team sponsorship program in April 2017 to discover talented eSports teams. Also in April 2017, MSI names certified partners for the creation of an RGB ecosystem with MSI Mystic Light Sync which includes Corsair, SteelSeries, G.Skill, Cooler Master, InWin, Phanteks, and others.

Mustek and MSI sign laptop distribution deal in 2017.

ESL has partnered with MSI for upcoming ESL One events in 2018.

MSI was the official partner of ESL One Cologne 2018, one of the biggest events on the CS:GO calendar.

In August 2018, MSI was rated the Best Gaming Laptop Brand of 2018 by Laptop Mag. New designs of its GS65 Stealth Thin and GE63 Raider RGB laptops earned the company a stellar 84 out of 100 and put it on the top spot.

Method eSports organization joined forces with MSI in August 2018.

MSI partnered with ESL to bring MGA 2018 grand finals to New York. Kazakhstan's AVANGAR won the Championship.

MSI & Ubisoft jointly presented Ambient Link synchronized game lighting on Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 in 2019.

In September 2020, MSI unveiled a new line of business-oriented laptops under the "Modern", "Prestige", and "Summit" lines, and a new logo specific to these models.

On 7 October 2020 MSI released a public statement about their subsidiary Starlit scalping MSI made Nvidia RTX 3080 and 3090 GPUs, and selling them for higher than MSRP on eBay.

## Sponsorship

The company once partnered with eSports heavyweights Fnatic and Cloud 9.

It has also been a sponsor for a number of eSports teams worldwide, including METHOD, PENTA Sports, Energy eSports, HWA Gaming, yoe Flash Wolves, NXA-Ladies, Saigon Fantastic Five, MSI-Evolution,Vox Eminor, DeToNator, Team Infused, Aperture Gaming, Phoenix GaminG, Karmine Corp etc.

MSI announced partnership with Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP in February 2022 to support the team with PC hardware throughout the MotoGP season.

## Controversy

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, MSI refused to join the international community and withdraw from the Russian market. Research from Yale University updated on April 28, 2022 identifying how companies were reacting to Russia's invasion identified MSI in the worst category of "Digging In", meaning Defying Demands for Exit: companies defying demands for exit/reduction of activities. MSI remains one of only two major Taiwanese companies to have defied demands for exit or reduction of activities in Russia (the other being ASUS).