<COMpany> A COMpany, formed some time before 1980, that was a leading personal COMputer manufacturer. AST developed desktop, mobile, and serverPCs that were sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. It is now (2000-03-02) trading as ARI Service. In January 1999 the name and intellectual property were acquired by a new COMpany named {AST COMputers, LLC}. (2000-03-21)