In Assassin’s Creed lore, what company develops and operates the Animus for modern users?

In Assassin’s Creed lore, Abstergo Industries develops and operates the Animus for modern users. Abstergo is a fictional multinational corporation secretly controlled by the Templars and serves as the principal modern-world antagonist in much of the series.

The Animus is a machine that lets a user experience genetic memories inherited from ancestors. In the first game, Abstergo scientist Warren Vidic uses Desmond Miles to access memories connected to Altaïr. Abstergo presents its research as commercial and scientific work, but its Templar leadership seeks information that can help control society.

The company appears in several forms throughout the franchise. Its research includes entertainment products, pharmaceutical work, and memory technology, while its security forces oppose the modern Assassins. Abstergo is not the name of the machine: the device is the Animus, and Abstergo is the organization that creates and deploys it in the modern storyline.