Andrew Kay

For the Scottish academic surgeon, see Andrew Watt Kay.

Andrew Kay
Born	Andrew F. Kay (1919-01-22)January 22, 1919
Died	August 28, 2014(2014-08-28) (aged 95)
Other names	Andy
Spouse	Mary[1]
Children	4[1]

Andrew F. Kay (January 22, 1919 – August 28, 2014) was a businessman and innovator. He was President and CEO of Kaypro, a personal computer company, which at one time was the world's fourth largest manufacturer of computers, and the largest in the world in sales of portable computers.[2]

Kay, a 1940 graduate of MIT, started his career with Bendix followed by two years at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In 1952, Kay founded Non-Linear Systems, a manufacturer of digital instrumentation. NLS developed a reputation for providing rugged durability in critical applications for everything from submarines to spacecraft. At NLS he invented the digital voltmeter, in 1952. [3]

He founded Kaypro Corporation in 1982, which sold computers.[3] In 1985, it had more than $120 million in revenue, dwarfing what had been its parent, NLS. But the company's success was relatively short-lived; in 1990 it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and it was liquidated in 1992.[2]

In the late 1990s, Kay founded Kay Computers, which similarly manufactured and sold personal computers. The company lasted for less than ten years.

Kay later was a Senior Business Advisor to Accelerated Composites, LLC. ^[citation needed]

He co-founded the Rotary Club of Del Mar, California. [3]

Andrew Kay died at age 95 in August of 2014. [3]

References

1. Tech Street: Kaypro Hunkers Down By John Gantz, InfoWorld, 20 Aug 1984, Page 20, ...Andrew Kay...called his sons, David and Allen, into the business; he got his wife Mary, and father, Frank, to help out too...
2. Markoff, John (September 5, 2014). "Andrew Kay, Pioneer in Computing, Dies at 95". New York Times.
3. Freeman, Mike (3 September 2014). "Computer pioneer Andrew Kay dies at 95". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

External links

• "Brief Biography" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2006-06-09., AcceleratedComposites.com; accessed September 8, 2014.
• Computer pioneer Andrew Kay dies at 95, utsandiego.com; accessed September 8, 2014.
• Andrew Kay obituary, legacy.com; accessed September 8, 2014.
• Patent 2813266 Patent for Indicator Device and Means for Mounting (1957)