to 1,900. In 1999, Samsung was forced to close the California-based computer maker after a string of losses and a mass defection of research talent. Samsung had invested US$1 billion in the company. The AST trademark was sold to Beny Alagem, co-founder of Packard Bell, on January 10, 1999; Alagem also gained an exclusive license to the company's intellectual property. The deal was estimated at around $200 million in value according to one person familiar with its details. Alagem additionally invested $12.5 million into the formation of AST Computers, a separate, "Internet-driven" joint venture based in Los Angeles, with Alagem holding a 65 percent stake and Samsung holding a 35 percent stake; however, the venture failed to gain traction as the computer market slowed in late 2000, becoming moribund by 2004. Meanwhile, Samsung restructured the original AST as ARI Service to support its existing products until it was dissolved on February 28, 2001. References External links American companies established in 1980 American companies disestablished in 1999 Companies based in Irvine, California Computer companies established in 1980 Computer companies disestablished in 1999 Defunct companies based in California Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies