The Creative Advanced Technology Center (Creative ATC) was formed in 1999 through the merging of two Creative companies - the Joint Emu/Creative Technology Center, and Silicon Engineering. The combined operation has a staff of about 75, most of whom are engineers.

Creative ATC's charter is to provide advanced research and development for Creative's newest products. Our major emphasis is in the areas of audio, graphics, and connectivity, providing algorithm research and architectural development, silicon design of very large, high-performance chips, and software development to take advantage of this technology and extend its application into new areas and new levels of performance.

The Joint Emu/Creative Technology Center (commonly called the Tech Center for short) had its roots as part of Emu - well-known as a major force in electronic musical instruments for the professional musician for many years. Emu keyboards, synthesizers, mixers, and other equipment have long been a standard part of the professional musician's studio.

In 1995, Creative, looking for the very best in music and audio technology with which to augment its leading role as supplier of audio for the PC, acquired Emu and made it part of the worldwide Creative family of companies dedicated to making audio an integral part of the PC experience. The audio technologies coming out of Emu were first designed into the Creative AWE sound cards for the PC, extending the limited capabilities of the original Soundblaster cards on which Creative had built its fortune, and providing levels of sophistication hitherto unknown in PC audio.

In 1998 AWE was followed up by a groundbreaking product - SB-Live! - based on the 10k1 chip architected and designed at the Tech Center. The 10k1 made history as a true application-specific DSP chip targetted at high-performance audio - its technology is also found in Emu's professional products - and through Creative, SB-Live! has become easily the world's number one selling audio card for the PC.

Silicon Engineering was formed in 1987 to provide high-end silicon design services for the emerging ASIC market as well as for full-custom designs requiring an independant design team. In contrast to the smaller design houses, SEI was set up from the outset to provide full-service turnkey design, with a fully-equipped design center and teams of experienced, highly-skilled designers. SEI's background in large, high-performance state-of-the-art chip design set it apart from its competitors, and gained it a reputation among major industry players for reliably delivering leading-edge designs under tight schedules. Key clients have included Intel, Microsoft, IBM, SGI, Apple, Chips & Technology, Adaptec, SuperMac, Radius, Sensory, Adobe, and many more.

In 1998 Creative acquired SEI to provide them with their own state-of-the-art VLSI design center, and to bring SEI's formidable capabilities to bear on Creative's own product line as it sought to augment its audio products and to expand into exciting new areas.

Today, the Creative Advanced Technology Center continues to do pioneering work in the fields of audio, graphics, and connectivity, both wired and wireless, and pushing the state of the art in advanced high-performance silicon design. Some of the most complex chips in the world today are being designed at Creative ATC.

Located in Scotts Valley, between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Monterey Bay, yet just 30 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley, Creative ATC is ideally situated for a balanced blend of work and leisure, with the ample benefits of the outdoor living afforded by the area, and the cultural and academic amenities of the nearby University of California at Santa Cruz.