 | |
 Site of former headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, pictured in 2023 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer |
| Founded | 1972 in Olathe, Kansas |
| Founder | Charles C. Childress |
| Defunct | 1985 |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Products | MSI 6800 |
Number of employees | 10 (1976) |
Midwest Scientific Instruments, Inc. (MSI), often shortened to Midwest Scientific, was an American computer company founded in Olathe, Kansas, in the early 1970s. Charles C. Childress, a doctorate of biochemistry, founded the company as a way to market his data acquisition and processing interfaces based on programmable calculators for medical, scientific, and industrial uses. After an after-market floppy drive system for the SWTPC 6800 proved a hot-seller for Midwest in 1976, the company began products for general-purpose computers like the SWTPC. In 1977, they released their own microcomputer, the MSI 6800—a clone of the SWTPC 6800. Their sales tripled that year and prompted expansion in the Kansas City area. It survived into the mid-1980s before going defunct and having its remaining assets auctioned off.