Gang of Nine

The Gang of Nine

The Gang of Nine was the informal name given to the consortium of personal computer manufacturing companies, led by Compaq, that announced the EISA bus. The nine companies together had more than 33% market share for all PCs in 1987, compared to IBM's 27%. The Gang of Nine had an even larger share of the market for 80386-based computers, with 43% compared to IBM's 16%. Compaq was among the first clone makers after the IBM PC's debut in 1981, and had 28% of the 80386 market. Rival members generally acknowledged Compaq's leadership, with one stating in 1989 that within the Gang of Nine "when you have 10 people sit down before a table to write a letter to the president, someone has to write the letter. Compaq is sitting down at the typewriter". The members were: