Align Technology is a US company in the field of orthodontics. The company is considered the inventor of aligner therapy and held the patent for transparent aligners until 2017.
Founded in 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth and headquartered in San Jose, Align Technology launched the “Invisalign” system in 1999. In October 2017, the patent for this teeth straightening method expired. Since then, companies all over the world have been able to manufacture and sell aligners.