AlphaSmart

AlphaSmart, Inc.

Formerly	Intelligent Peripheral Devices, Inc.
Company type	Public
Industry	Computer
Founded	1992; 32 years ago (1992) in Los Gatos, California
Founders	Joe Barrus Ketan Kothari
Defunct	2005; 19 years ago (2005)
Fate	Acquired by Renaissance Learning, Inc.
Products	Educational portable computers

AlphaSmart, Inc., formerly Intelligent Peripheral Devices, Inc., was an education technology company founded in 1992 by Apple Computer engineers Joe Barrus and Ketan Kothari, and Kothari's brother, Manish Kothari.^[1] At the time of their initial release in 1993, the first AlphaSmart models were marketed as smart keyboards designed to promote writing in the classroom as an alternative to expensive computer labs. The units' durability, long battery life, and limited functionality made them ideal for K-12^{[further explanation needed]} classrooms. Later models expanded functionality to spell-checking, running applications, and accessing wireless printers.

After their initial public offering in 2004, AlphaSmart, Inc. was quickly acquired by Renaissance Learning, Inc., in 2005. The last AlphaSmart branded device, named the Neo 2, was released by Renaissance Learning in 2007. 6 years later in late September 2013, production of all AlphaSmart branded devices was discontinued.^[2] While AlphaSmart no longer exists as a brand, a cult following of distraction-free writers has kept a healthy secondhand market for Alphasmart devices alive to this day.^[3]

In August 2022, Freewrite, a manufacturer of single purpose distraction-free writing tools such as the Hemingwrite and the Traveler, revived the alphasmart.com domain for the release of a product called the Freewrite Alpha.^[4][5]