6 Brands That Are Owned By Acer

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You've probably heard of Acer before if you've done any sort of research on computers. The company continues to stay exceptionally active today, with its China-made computer products still gaining traction thanks to modern AI features and unique designs. But that doesn't account for everything it's in charge of, because Acer has collected quite a few brands over its lifetime. Some of them are basically just fancy names for pieces of tech targeted towards enthusiasts, while others were taken from entirely different companies to supplement Acer's lineup of products.

Acer's own beginnings can be traced back to 1976 where it started out under the name of Multitech, initially performing work on microprocessors. 1987 is when it would take on its current name, eventually growing into the tech behemoth it's known as today. Some of its current brands are practically just part of its main lineup of products, while others are much more niche; a few have even fallen to the wayside entirely. Depending on what you've bought recently, you might not even know that your latest purchase was from a brand owned by Acer.

Acer's Predator brand consists of gaming products, covering laptops, desktops, accessories, and even dedicated graphics cards. Nitro is pretty much the exact same, with a slightly larger focus on affordability — but even then, the differences are minimal. Both brands even have their own dedicated gaming handhelds, so it's easy to lump the two together. These brands weren't part of another company beforehand, either; both were created by Acer itself.

You might consider SpatialLabs and Aspire as being separate brands, as well, with the former making glasses-less 3D and the latter offering basic laptops for everyday users. But it should be noted that both of these names were used under other Nitro and Predator products before, with some still being available today. We even reviewed the Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition laptop back in 2013. Because of that, this article isn't going to give quite as much of a highlight to those lineups — though they're worth a mention, especially with how Aspire has been expanding its reach in recent years.

Altos Computing – founded in 1977 — was perhaps Acer's earliest acquisition, coming under its fold all the way back in 1990. It's partnered with some of the largest tech companies in the world, including Intel, Microsoft, AMD, and Nvidia. Its products are primarily targeted towards other companies, with servers, workstations, and enterprise-level storage solutions being part of what it provides. As you might expect, this means you won't be able to get your hands on most of its products for yourself.

Altos has put most of its focus today on artificial intelligence, with its aiWorks platform leaning hard into the industry. The company might not offer the best AI tools for a small business, but it seeks to provide a way for existing tools to maximize performance. If you're not particularly enthusiastic about AI, this might not seem like anything that would interest you. But Acer certainly has been trying to gain a foothold in the technology, and it seems like Altos is helping it make quite a few strides in that regard.

Gateway was once a major tech company, building itself from humble beginnings in 1985 to a massive competitor among computer manufacturers. But Acer eventually acquired the brand in 2007, which happened to come with another brand known as eMachines. Unlike the latter, Gateway still operates today, with its Chromebooks showing up under Acer's label. You can also find a few dedicated Windows laptops from the brand if you know where to look.

Despite its continued presence in the modern era, Gateway doesn't have a very wide lineup of products. In fact, that presence is only really due to recent efforts, as Walmart helped revitalize the brand back in 2020. Some would even say the brand is practically shut down today, as that Walmart "partnership" goes as far as the retail chain supplying the laptops itself, with Acer outsourcing manufacturing and not doing any in-house development of these branded machines. Still, Gateway Computers does currently exist — even if it's just as a shell of its former self.

Xplova is an odd brand to find here, as its computer products are designed entirely for cyclists. You'll probably find different claims on when it was founded, but it definitively joined the Acer umbrella in 2015 — in spite of its seemingly-unrelated product lineup. However, Acer has been making the most of the brand's tech, using it to help break into the e-bike industry. Its efforts led to the ebii, a "smart" e-bike that can still be purchased directly from the tech company today.

This isn't actually Acer's only attempt at appealing to cyclists in some way. It also made the eKinekt BD3 stationary bike, one of the best tech gadgets that you probably didn't know about. But that seemingly wasn't made with any help from Xplova, which has a full focus on outdoor cycling. You can see that in its current list of available products, ranging from miniature smart computers to power meters and tire inflators.

Pawbo, like Xplova, is a bit different from the other brands here. It still focuses on technology, but its products are mainly meant for pets and pet owners. It became a full part of Acer in 2016, with speakers and microphones designed to help people stay in touch with their furry friends. Additional information about Pawbo is scarce, though — and you might struggle to learn anything about it today.

Here's the caveat with this brand: It's difficult to call Pawbo "active" at the moment. Many of its products are out of stock, and its website is currently unable to be accessed. Some owners claim that their Pawbo products are entirely out of service, leaving them unable to get any support on broken-down purchases. Despite this, it's still possible to buy at least some of Pawbo's offerings today from official retailers and sellers, so it just barely manages to claim a spot on this list.

As previously mentioned, eMachines — a 1998-founded computer company — was part of the same acquisition that led to Acer owning Gateway. But we aren't highlighting it here because the whole eMachines brand was discontinued by 2013. Packard Bell was also acquired in that same Gateway deal, and it's been similarly dormant despite continuing to have its own active website. The brand is slated to come back with a new lineup of tech, though it's still not available at time of writing — and there's no word on if it'll come to the U.S. at all.

For the most part, Acer's most long-lived and successful products come from the company itself, rather than the brands it took from other companies. One could almost say it's ironic, given how it's the worst-rated major computer brand for customer satisfaction, but its Predator, Nitro, and Aspire lines have continued to add new products even now. Acer also had a ConceptD lineup, which consisted of devices made for creative expression, but you won't find any of these products available today from anyone outside of third-party sellers. Despite once being a pretty major part of the company, that particular sub-brand seems to have quietly fallen out of favor — and now it can only hope for a sudden revival like what Gateway received (and what Packard Bell is about to get).