Founded in 1976 by Lorne Trottier and Branko Matić, Matrox helped pioneer personal computer graphics by creating dedicated display hardware. By designing add-in video memory boards, the company relieved early microprocessors of display management tasks and enabled graphical computing.
Bridging Processors and Video
Lorne Trottier developed a passion for electronics and space exploration in his youth, later earning an engineering master’s degree from McGill University in 1973. He recognized an emerging hardware bottleneck: early microcomputers lacked affordable direct interfaces to drive video displays. Partnering with co-founder Branko Matić, Trottier incorporated Matrox in 1976 in Quebec to build dedicated hardware capable of connecting central processors to video screens.
The Initial Product Breakthrough
Focusing on display memory architecture rather than complete computers, Matrox introduced the MTX-1632 Video RAM card for $198. Generating a 32-by-16 ASCII character output, the board provided 512 bytes of video memory. A free product listing in Electronics magazine generated $20,000 in initial orders, making the company immediately profitable. This success funded follow-up boards like the MTX-256**2, which offered a 256-by-256 raster display using dedicated image memory.
Navigating the S-100 Ecosystem
After gathering technical data at early computing trade shows, Trottier recognized the rapid adoption of S-100 expansion slots. Matrox designed the ALT-256**2 interface board specifically for the S-100 bus. By handling screen refresh duties on dedicated onboard memory, the board required no central processor time, generating a 256-by-256 video signal for standard television monitors at a low cost.
Scaling Up and Lasting Influence
Matrox hardware soon expanded into high-end applications, including ground control displays for NASA’s Viking Mars mission in 1978 and multi-monitor systems for financial trading floors. Trottier instituted progressive workplace policies inspired by Hewlett-Packard's management philosophy.
By delivering standalone video memory and bus-compatible display adapters, Matrox helped transition personal computers from simple text terminals into graphical systems, demonstrating the power of modular graphics hardware.
Cover: AI-generated editorial illustration; not a documentary photograph.
Source: Abort Retry Fail Matrox
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