Focusrite was originally founded by Rupert Neve in 1985, and one of the first tasks was to design 3 custom-built mixing desks for George Martin himself. In 1988, the first desk was ready in the characteristic semicircle shape. However, it did not become more than a few before the pants could no longer hold.

The company was then taken over by Phil Dudderidge, who had previously co-founded Soundcraft, and has been moving forward ever since.

Focusrite is today characterized by 3 distinct product lines: the ISA series, which is derived from the first mixer desks, a large selection of audio interfaces and finally RedNet, a new concept for Pro Audio in networks.