[3] AST had established itself as one of the known "alternative" brands of PCs in the United States while globally it had numerous plants[2] and was one of the world's largest makers of personal computers.

However, increasing competition and its difficulty to integrate the assets of Tandy Corporation acquired in 1993, led to it making major losses in the following years.

Samsung Electronics purchased a stake in AST in 1995[4] and bought the company outright two years later, leading to co-founder Qureshey stepping down as CEO and chairman.

[5] Unable to recover and causing additional losses to Samsung, AST was de facto closed down in 1999 and its brand name and patents sold to a consortium led by Beny Alagem.

[10] The founders deemed the initial models of the IBM PC to have been equipped with an inadequate amount of RAM and communications capability and so devised a range of expansion cards that provided these features.

Needing to keep up with the increasing demand from the customer base, the company vied for venture capital but were turned down by multiple banks.

[6]: 122 In late 1983, the company introduced the SixPakPlus, a popular multifunction expansion card for the IBM PC that led to another sharp increase in sales.

To make the computer more competitive among a crowded PC compatible market, AST offered the Premium/286 in an optional package that included a discounted laser printer and image scanner, advertised as an inexpensive desktop publishing workstation.

[9]: 42  AST had several setbacks in 1987, including flat sales of expansion products[22] and delayed shipments of a peripheral for IBM PCs in June 1987 that was a factor in a canceled stock call the following month.

[27] From July to November 1988, AST introduced seven models of premium computers,[9]: 42  and in early September 1988, they announced a $2.2 million television advertising campaign, the first commercials of which premiering during the 1988 Summer Olympics that month.

[28] The television commercials comprised roughly 20 percent of AST's $12 million advertising budget and were supported by a line of memorabilia, including pins, posters, and video tapes, tying in with the Olympics and offered at computer dealer shows.

The technology press speculated that the loss was due to AST ignoring Intel's development of the i486 while the company was busy restructuring and boosting its advertising.

When Intel released the i486 to the public in early 1989, AST was one of the few PC compatible manufacturers which had not announced a i486 computer in the pipeline contemporaneously.

[2] In 1989, AST introduced Cupid, the trademark for a method of making computer systems forward-compatible with upgraded microprocessors and memory chips.

[6]: 126 In April 1990, the company announced the Dual SX/16, a clone of NEC's PC-9801 computer, to be sold exclusively in Japan where the PC-9800 series had flourished.

[9]: 42–43 These developments and more led to a quick financial recovery for AST, and in 1990 the company's stock price had risen roughly 260 percent in concert with its sales and earnings growth.

Industry leader Compaq and several other competitors announced steep price cuts in direct response to AST early in the year.

[39] During plans to restructure AST yet again to minimize operating costs, Yuen left the company early that year, leaving Qureshey as the sole remaining co-founder.

[40][41] Qureshey and his executive board set out to maintain AST's third-place status and keep on top of developments in the computer industry.

[42] In 1993, AST announced a joint venture with Grid Systems, a subsidiary of Tandy Corporation, to develop a pen-tablet computer called the PenExec, which has a cordless stylus.

The company incurred a loss with this purchase but gained four PC manufacturing plants—one in Scotland, the rest in Texas—and a litany of patents and software copyrights that had been registered to Tandy Corporation.

In 1999, Samsung was forced to close the California-based computer maker after a string of losses and a mass defection of research talent.

[53][54] Alagem additionally invested $12.5 million[55] into the formation of AST Computers, a separate, "Internet-driven" joint venture based in Los Angeles, with Alagem holding a 65 percent stake and Samsung holding a 35 percent stake;[56][57] however, the venture failed to gain traction as the computer market slowed in late 2000, becoming moribund by 2004.