{{Short description|American company that produces orthodontics devices}} {{Infobox company | name = Align Technology, Inc. | type = Public | traded_as = {{Unbulleted list|{{nasdaq|ALGN}}|S&P 500 component}} | foundation = {{start date and age|1997}} | founders = {{ubl|Zia Chishti|Kelsey Wirth}} | hq_location = Tempe, Arizona, U.S. | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = Joe Hogan (president & CEO)<br />Karim Boussebaa (EVP and MD, iTero Scanner and Services Business) <br />John F. Morici (CFO)<br />Mitra Derakhshan and Jose Gasco (SVP, Global Clinical) | num_employees = {{formatnum:20945}} | num_employees_year = 2024 | industry = Orthodontics devices | ISIN = {{ISIN|sl=n|pl=y|US0162551016}} | products = Clear aligners, intra-oral scanners, dental CAD software | revenue = {{increase}} {{US$|4.00 billion|link=yes}} (2024) | operating_income = {{increase}} {{US$|608 million}} (2024) | net_income = {{increase}} {{US$|421 million}} (2024) | assets = {{increase}} {{US$|6.21 billion}} (2024) | equity = {{increase}} {{US$|3.85 billion}} (2024) | homepage = {{url|https://aligntech.com}} | footnotes = <ref name="10K-2024">{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1097149/000109714925000012/algn-20241231.htm |title=Align Technology 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |date=28 February 2025 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}}</ref> }}
'''Align Technology, Inc.''' is an American manufacturer of 3D digital scanners and Invisalign clear aligners used in orthodontics and restorative workflow. It was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. The company manufactures the aligners in Juarez, Mexico, and its scanners in Israel and China. The company is best known for its Invisalign system, which is a clear aligner treatment used to straighten teeth.
== Invisalign == '''Invisalign''' is a brand of clear aligners manufactured by Align Technology. The clear align system had been used to treat more than 18 million patients by 2017,<ref name="Weir">{{Cite journal|last=Weir|first=T.|date=2017|title=Clear aligners in orthodontic treatment|journal=Australian Dental Journal|volume=62|issue=S1 |pages=58–62|doi=10.1111/adj.12480|pmid=28297094|doi-access=|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/adj.12480|url-status=live|archive-date=27 October 2021|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027015245/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/adj.12480|type=Supplement article|publisher=Wiley|eissn=1834-7819}}</ref> and 22 million patients by 2026.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Dave |first=Paresh |date=17 March 2026 |title=How Invisalign Became the World’s Biggest User of 3D Printers |url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-invisalign-became-the-worlds-biggest-3d-printing-company/ |access-date=22 March 2026 |magazine=Wired}} ----Article includes both reporting and an interview. The interview was excluded from use here.</ref>
Align Technology founder Zia Chishti conceived of the basic design of Invisalign while an adult orthodontics patient. During his treatment with a retainer intended to complete his treatment, he posited that a series of such devices could effect a large final placement in a series of small movements. He partnered with Kelsey Wirth to seek developers.<ref name="Phulari2013">{{cite book|author=Basavaraj Subhashchandra Phulari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNNhyMz_fowC&pg=RA1-PA237|title=History of Orthodontics|date=30 June 2013|publisher=JP Medical Ltd|isbn=978-93-5090-471-8|pages=1}}</ref><ref name="invisalignsystem">{{cite book|last=Tuncay|first=Orhan|title=The Invisalign System|date=2006|publisher=Quintessence Publishing Co, Ltd|isbn=978-1-85097-127-6}}</ref><ref name="Kellog">{{citation|last1=Coughlan|first1=Anne|title=Invisalign: Orthodontics Unwired|url=https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/research/detail/2004/invisalign-orthodontics-unwired/|publisher=Kellogg School of Management|last2=Hennessy|first2=Julie|date=1 January 2004|accessdate=18 December 2024}}</ref>
Invisalign was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998, and sales began in the U.S. in 1999.<ref name="RakosiGraber2010">{{cite book|last1=Rakosi|first1=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MK7nKywkgIoC|title=Orthodontic and Dentofacial Orthopedic Treatment|last2=Graber|first2=Thomas M.|date=2010|publisher=Thieme|isbn=978-3-13-127761-9}}</ref> Orthodontists were resistant to adopting Invisalign at first, in particular because the founders had no orthodontic credentials or expertise, but the product became popular among consumers.<ref name="Phulari2013" /> The company raised about $140 million in funding over four rounds from 1997 to 2000.<ref name="Feder" /><ref name="ap">{{cite news|last=Liedtke|first=Michael|date=September 23, 2000|title=Using new software, dentists straighten teeth without braces|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=20000923&id=LyMfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5acEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2697,4521500|access-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref> In 2000 Align Technology planned a $31 million television advertising campaign that ''The New York Times'' said would be "the most aggressive consumer advertising plan the dental profession has ever seen".<ref name="Feder">{{cite news|last=Feder|first=Barnaby J.|date=18 August 2000|title=Orthodontics Via Silicon Valley; A Start-Up Uses Computer Modeling And Venture Capital to Reach Patients|page=1|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/18/business/orthodontics-via-silicon-valley-start-up-uses-computer-modeling-venture-capital.html}}</ref> In 2001, $130 million in additional funding was raised through an initial public offering on NASDAQ.<ref name="Kellog" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Liedtke|first=Michael|date=January 26, 2001|title=Align Technology Raises $130 Million in IPO|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/e08b431839c09da4f08b6aa81aaac3cf|access-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref> By 2001, 75 percent of the 8,500 orthodontists in North America had been trained on the Invisalign system.<ref name="Kellog" /><ref name="one">{{cite news|last=Bush|first=Jewel|date=August 14, 2001|title=Stealth Braces|newspaper=NYT Regional Newspapers|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=20010814&id=0iUfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C9AEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4492,5310169|access-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref> That same year, Align Technology made Invisalign available to general dentists following a class-action lawsuit that alleged making the system available only to orthodontists resulted in unfair competition for dentists.<ref name="Kellog" /><ref name="one" />
In the early 2000s, Align Technology was spending nearly all of its revenues on marketing and advertising, and losing about $18 million per year.<ref name="directory">{{cite book|last=Gretchen|first=Antelman|title=International Directory of Company Histories|date=2008|publisher=St. James Press|isbn=978-1-55862-615-7|volume=94|pages=15–18}}</ref><ref name="ibd">{{cite news|last=Lau|first=Gloria|date=May 3, 2004|title=It has a bracing impact on patients; Align Technology|url=http://news.investors.com/business-health-and-medicine/050304-397609-it-has-a-bracing-impact-on-patients-align-technology-santa-clara-california-wwwinvisaligncom.htm}}</ref> Cofounders Wirth and Chishti resigned from Align Technology in 2001 and 2003 respectively,<ref name="six">{{cite news|date=September 28, 2006|title=OrthoClear, Align end lengthy legal fight|newspaper=Silicon Valley Business Journal|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/09/25/daily56.html?page=all|access-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref> with Thomas Prescott replacing Chishti as CEO in March 2002. Prescott re-focused the company on North America and cut the marketing budget to about one-third its original size.<ref name="directory" /><ref name="ibd" />
The Invisalign system grew from 80,000 patients in 2002 to 175,000 in 2004. It won several awards for stereolithography, medical design and fast growth. Align Technology was profitable for the first time in 2003. In 2005 the company expanded into Japan, and acquired General Orthodontic, an orthodontics firm that supported doctors prescribing the Invisalign system. Later that year, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine began requiring that its orthodontic graduate students complete Invisalign certification before they graduate.<ref name="directory" />
The Invisalign Express 10, which uses 10 aligners, was introduced in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|date=December 27, 2005|title=Medical Devices; Pricing simplified for Invisalign|newspaper=Science Letter|url=https://www.newsrx.com/Butter/?_escaped_fragment_=Search:a=285585}}</ref> Invisalign 1.5 was released in 2009. It was followed by Invisalign G3 in 2010 and G4 in 2011. Invisalign G3 and G4 were designed for more complex treatments. An Invisalign Express 5 version, which uses 5 aligners, was introduced in 2012.<ref name="NoMoreMetal">{{cite news|last=Benesh|first=Peter|date=March 19, 2007|title=No More Mouthfuls of Metal|newspaper=Investor's Business Daily|url=http://news.investors.com/business-health-and-medicine/031907-431171-no-more-mouthfuls-of-metal.htm|access-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref> In February 2014, Align Technology released a G5 product designed to treat deep bites.<ref>{{cite journal|date=2014|title=Treatment of deep bite malocclusions|journal=BDJ|volume=216|issue=5|pages=260|doi=10.1038/sj.bdj.2014.164|issn=0007-0610|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Support, software engineering, pre-production and administrative functions are done from Align Technology's headquarters in California. The manufacturing of Invisalign aligners is performed in Mexico,<ref name="Kellog" /> and treatment plans are created in Costa Rica. Align Technology also operates separate subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Australia that sell Invisalign in their respective markets.<ref name="Plunkett2009">{{cite book|last=Plunkett|first=Jack W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FAA7UaVB5AEC|title=Plunkett's Companion to the Almanac of American Employers 2009: Mid-Size Firms|date=March 1, 2009|publisher=Plunkett Research, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-59392-126-2|pages=134}}</ref> Align Technology provides training and certification to doctors.<ref name="RakosiGraber2010" /><ref name="Edwab2003">{{cite book|last=Edwab|first=Robert R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjfdcihiaRsC|title=Essential Dental Handbook: Clinical and Practice Management Advice from the Experts|date=2003|publisher=PennWell Books|isbn=978-0-87814-624-6|pages=412}}</ref>
In 2007 the Academy of General Dentistry approved Align Technology's Program Approval for Continuing Education (PACE) program.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} The company also created the AlignTech Institute, which provides educational resources to doctors.<ref name="Plunkett2009" /> In March 2011 Align Technology acquired Cadent System, Inc., a dentist firm, for $190 million.<ref>{{cite news|date=September 9, 2011|title=Restructuring Roundup: Align to close New Jersey facility, will cut 119 jobs|publisher=Medical Device Daily}}</ref>
A major revision to the manufacturing process was started in 2026, a switch from mold-based appliance manufacture to 3D-printing, aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process through disintermediation.<ref name=":0" />
== History == Align Technology was founded in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth, classmates at Stanford Graduate School of Business,<ref name=":0" /> and began working on the development of a clear aligner.<ref name=Hist /> Align received FDA clearance to market the Invisalign system in 1998, and it was first marketed in 2000.<ref name=Hist>{{cite book|last1=Phulari|first1=Basavaraj Subhashchandra|title=History of Orthodontics|date=2013|publisher=JP Medical Ltd|isbn=9789350904718|page=226|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNNhyMz_fowC&pg=RA1-PA226|language=en}}</ref> Align Technology went public on January 26, 2001, on the Nasdaq Stock Market.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB98053025851761714|title=Align Technology Gains 33% After IPO Prices on Low Side|date=26 January 2001|publisher=Wall Street Journal|access-date=7 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Steve|title=FDA issues warning to Invisalign maker|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2010/12/01/fda-issues-warning-to-invisalign-maker/|work=Mercury News|date=December 1, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=DeNoon|first1=Daniel J.|title=Invisalign 'Invisible Braces' Maker Gets FDA Warning|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/733627|work=Medscape|date=December 4, 2010}}</ref>
In March 2011 Align acquired the Israeli company Cadent for $190 million; Cadent manufactured intraoral scanners that included 3D imaging, as well as software to display the acquired images and to plan treatment.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ben-Israel|first1=Adi|title=Dental imaging co Cadent bought for $190m|url=http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-1000634470|work=Globes|date=30 March 2011|language=he}}</ref>
Joseph M. Hogan joined Align in June 2015, and is CEO and president.<ref name=Forbes>{{cite news|last1=Tindera|first1=Michela|title=Out Of Silicon Valley, A Billion-Dollar Orthodontics Business Built With Plastic And Patents|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2017/04/25/out-of-silicon-valley-a-billion-dollar-orthodontics-business-built-with-plastic-and-patents/|work=Forbes|date=April 25, 2017}}</ref>
The company's sales reached $1 billion for the first time in 2016 and its products were being used in about 8% of people who got braces.<ref name=Forbes /> In 2017 the company was faced with the challenge of the expiration of its patents on its Invisalign system starting in October 2017 and the beginning of generic competition.<ref name=Forbes />
In March 2020, Align Technology announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire exocad Global Holdings for approximately $418.7 million.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/04/1995366/0/en/Align-Technology-to-Acquire-Global-Dental-CAD-CAM-Software-Leader-Exocad.html |title=Align Technology to Acquire Global Dental CAD/CAM Software Leader Exocad |date=2020-03-04 |website=GlobeNewswire |access-date=2020-03-05 |publisher=Align Technology}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Surran |first=Carl |date=2020-03-04 |title=Align Tech to buy dental software maker Exocad for €376M |url=https://seekingalpha.com/news/3548826-align-tech-to-buy-dental-software-maker-exocad-for-376m |access-date=2020-03-05 |website=Seeking Alpha |language=en}}</ref>
As of February 2023, Align Technology has assisted over 234,000 doctors and over 14.5 million patients worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Post |first=Sponsor |title=25 years later, the company that modernized the way we straighten our teeth is still revolutionizing dentistry |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/25-years-later-the-company-that-modernized-straight-teeth-is-revolutionizing-dentistry |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> In September 2023, it was announced Align Technology had acquired the Vienna-headquartered 3D printing technology and materials company, Cubicure GmbH.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sher |first=Davide |date=2023-09-07 |title=Align Technology to acquire Cubicure |url=https://www.voxelmatters.com/align-technology-to-acquire-cubicure/ |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=VoxelMatters – The heart of additive manufacturing |language=en-US}}</ref>
== See also == *List of S&P 500 companies
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{Official|https://www.aligntech.com}} {{Finance links | name = Align Technology | symbol = ALGN | sec_cik = 1097149 | yahoo = ALGN | google = ALGN:NASDAQ }}
{{S&P 500 companies}} {{Authority control}} {{Orthodontics}} Category:Companies listed on the Nasdaq Category:Dental companies of the United States Category:Manufacturing companies based in Arizona Category:Companies based in Tempe, Arizona Category:Medical technology companies of the United States Category:American companies established in 1997 Category:Health care companies established in 1997 Category:2001 initial public offerings Category:Health care companies based in Arizona Category:1997 establishments in Arizona