Foundation 1970s In the early 1970s,
James Truchard, Jeff Kodosky, and Bill Nowlin worked at the
University of Texas at Austin Applied Research Laboratories. While working on a project for the
U.S. Navy, they used emerging computer technology to collect and analyze data. The group sought to develop a GPIB interface for the PDP-11/04 minicomputer. In 1976, they founded a company in Truchard's garage. They initially attempted to incorporate under names such as Longhorn Instruments and Texas Digital, but trademarks of these names were rejected. Ultimately, they established the name
National Instruments. With a $10,000 loan from Interfirst Bank, the group purchased a
PDP-11/04 minicomputer and commenced their first project by designing and building a
GPIB interface for it. Their first sale was to
Kelly Air Force Base in
San Antonio. In 1977, the company employed its first full-time staff member, Kim Harrison-Hosen. By that time, it had sold a limited number of products. The company produced and distributed a mailer to 15,000 users of the
PDP-11 minicomputer. As sales began to rise, it relocated to a dedicated office space, occupying a 600-square-foot office at 9513 Burnet Road in Austin. Later, the company booked $400,000 in orders, recording a $60,000 profit. The company began to run out of room on its approximately campus. In 1994, NI broke ground on a new campus, located at a site along North Mopac Boulevard in northern Austin. By this time, NI had reached 1,000 employees. The new NI campus, which opened in 1998, contains dedicated "play" areas, including basketball and volleyball courts, an employee gym, and a campus-wide walking trail. Each of the buildings on the campus is lined with windows and features an open floor plan. Employees had been granted stock in the privately held company as part of their compensation packages. When NI went public in 1995, over 300 current and former employees owned stock. The company was listed on the
Nasdaq exchange as NATI. By the late 1990s, the company provided more advanced DAQ boards that could replace vendor-defined instruments with a custom PC-based system. NI also introduced the CompactPCI-based
PXI, an open industry standard for modular measurement and automation, and NI
TestStand, which provides for tracking high-volume manufacturing tests. In 2002, the company dedicated the Building C on its Mopac campus, which became the headquarters for the company's R&D operations. The completion of this building allowed NI to move all Austin-based employees to a single location. a provider of low-cost data acquisition products.
2010s In January 2013, NI acquired all outstanding shares of Digilent Inc., which became a wholly owned subsidiary. Two Washington State University electrical engineering professors, Clint Cole and Gene Apperson, founded Digilent in 2000. Digilent grew to become a multinational corporation with sales of test and development products to universities. Digilent developed the open standard
Pmod Interface.
2020s On June 16, 2020, the company announced an official name change to "NI". On May 4, 2021, NI announced the acquisition of monoDrive, a provider of simulation software for
advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle development. In March 2022, it was announced that NI had completed the acquisition of Heinzinger Automotive GmbH, the electronic vehicle systems business of
Rosenheim-based Heinzinger Electronic GmbH. After months of failed negotiations to purchase NI, industrial conglomerate
Emerson Electric launched a hostile takeover bid in early 2023, appealing directly to shareholders. In April 2023, NI agreed to be purchased for $8.2billion in an all-cash deal. which was completed in October 2023. Within Emerson, NI now operates as the Test & Measurement business group, headquartered in Austin, Texas. ==Products==