Smart Technologies (styled as SMART Technologies) is a Canadian company headquartered in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and wholly owned by

Foxconn Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (), Trade name, doing business as Hon Hai Technology Group () in Taiwan, Foxconn Technology Group () in China, and Foxconn () internationally, is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational electron ...

. Founded in 1987, SMART is best known as the developer of interactive whiteboards branded as the "Smart Board" (styled as SMART Board) widely used in education and business.

History

Smart was founded in 1987 by husband and wife David Martin and Nancy Knowlton. In 1991, Smart introduced its interactive whiteboard, branded the "Smart Board". In 2003, Smart developed and later patented DViT (Digital Vision Touch) technology which was an important feature of the SMART Board. In 2009, Smart filed a

patent infringement A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

lawsuit against New Zealand-based NextWindow before acquiring the company outright in 2010. On July 15, 2010, Smart Technologies placed an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

stock exchange and

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(TSX), raising upwards of $660 million. Later that year, several

class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

complaints were filed against Smart in the U.S. District Courts in New York and Illinois. Filed on behalf of the purchasers of the Class A Subordinate Voting Shares in Smart's IPO in July 2010, the complaints alleged that the company did not disclose important information prior to the IPO. A settlement was reached in March 2013. As of the 2011

fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

end, Smart Board interactive whiteboards led the interactive whiteboard category with a 63% share in the United States, 44% share in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and 47% share globally. In 2011, Smart employed about 1,700 people. In April 2012, amid a declining stock price and sales resulting from decreased school board spending, both Martin and Knowlton resigned from their executive roles at Smart before leaving the board in April 2014. On December 11, 2012, Smart Technologies announced it would begin corporate restructuring. The company proceeded to lay off 25% of its employees. Then-CEO Neil Gaydon stated that it would save the company approximately $40 million, and cited competition in the market as part of the reason for restructuring. In 2016, SMART Technologies Inc. was acquired by

for $200 million.

References

External links

Official Site

Corporate Logo Guide

SMART Boards for Schools
{{Authority control 1987 establishments in Alberta 2016 mergers and acquisitions Apax Partners companies Canadian companies established in 1987 Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies based in Calgary Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Computer companies established in 1987 Computer companies of Canada Computer hardware companies Display technology companies Foxconn subsidiaries