The Corporations of A Life on the Edge

Arasaka

Corporate security, Corporate police, and various Corporate sub-operations

If you want it protected, these are the people to talk to. Arasaka maintains one of the largest armed forces of any Corporation. Most of the time, Arasaka troops are covertly licensed out to other firms around the world as Corporate security guards, couriers, and mercenaries, but usually wearing the uniforms of their new "employers." The best trained and hardest operatives in the security business, they follow their client's orders second only to Arasaka's. To the Arasaka Corporation, however, they are loyal to the point of death. Arasaka is more interested in fostering its own political goals, rather than protecting other companies, and they use their position of trust with major corporations around the world to gain inside information, contacts and advantages.

Biotechnica

Genetic engineering, microbiological, and biochemical research

When the fuel crisis really began to affect the industrialized community in the late 1990s, Biotechnica, then a small firm with only one office, came up with the answer: CHOOH2TM (pronounced 'chew two'). CHOOH2 (not its actual chemical formula) is a complex grain alcohol produced by genetically engineered yeasts and wheat strains created by Biotechnica. The potential of CHOOH2 was realized almost immediately after it was introduced, and within a few years, all fuel-burning vehicles and power plants had converted to the new product. Although Biotechnica held worldwide patents, it lacked the production facilities to meet worldwide demand, forcing it to license production to several large Agricorps and PetroCorps. These deals made Biotechnica an extremely wealthy, but still not particularly large, company.

Its labs have also provided much of the tech that enabled them to develop new bio-engineered "replacement species," and Biotechnica is active in restoring both animals and habitat throughout the blighted environments of the world.

Militech International

Arms manufacturing and distribution, mercenaries

One of the major players in the 4th Corporate War, MTI fought rival, Arasaka Corp to a bloody standstill that ended only when the Megacorp was ordered to stand down by the President of the remnant United States. This didn't set well with Militech's hotheaded and proud CEO, Gen. Donald Lundee, an ex-Marine who took his war with the renegade Japanese security Corporation very personally. Currently, even as it labors under controls from Washington D.C. as a nationalized Corporate asset of the New United States, MTI is secretly rebuilding back to its former role as a combination of arms merchant and mercenary army. Even though greatly reduced by wartime losses, 

MTI is the world's largest producer and seller of all manner of military weapons. From revolvers to tanks to jet fighters, MTI is a major military supplier to the United States, and in turn the United States is MTI's largest customer. But MTI will deal worldwide with anyone who has money, and its mercenary forces and in-house weaponry still make it the most militarily powerful company in the world, if not economically. 

Petrochem

Petrochemical products and agribusiness. Worlds' largest CHOOH2 producer

The world's largest producer of CHOOH2 (under license), controlling millions of acres of arable land across north America—land chiefly used to grow the genetically altered wheat that is used to make the synthetic fuel known as CHOOH2. Petrochem is also one of the world's largest oil producers, but with the oil supply dwindling most remaining fossil fuels are used to make plastics and other synthetics. Petrochem also has more fertile oil fields than any other company. All of these assets are huge, and accordingly hard to protect from other companies that would like to usurp Petrochem's wealth. With such vast interests to protect, Petrochem has invested huge amounts of money in protecting itself, maintaining an armed force worthy of a small country. Still chafing under its CHOOH2 license from Biotechnica, it's only a matter of time before Petrochem's wily CEO finds a way to absorb the smaller biotech company for good.

Rocklin Augmentics

American cybernetics and structural enhancements specialists

Rocklin Prosthetics was a major supplier of artificial limb technology to the Veterans Administration after the Central American Police Actions. But as prosthetic devices evolved from simple medical aids to full cybernetic enhancements, Rocklin found itself eclipsed by more aggressive Cybercorps like Dynalar and Kiroshi. While the Corp eked out an existence through their old government contracts, they found their sturdy but basic products falling out of favour in the hyper-charged markets of the Cyberpunk Age.

Rebranding as Rocklin Augmentics in 2030, Neocorp burst onto the scene with an entirely new catalog of enhancements: bleeding edge designs that emphasized their artificial qualities and unique aesthetics. Still boasting the Rocklin reputation for reliability and strength, these new enhancements refused all pretence at organic simulation with open frameworks, bizarre color schemes, and proportions and variations that seemed brazenly inhuman. Public response was immediate and enthusiastic, and since then they have garnered a sizable portion of the domestic augmentations field, focusing on cyberlimb and skeletal enhancement systems.

Trauma Team

Ambulance and paramedic services

One of the largest private medical firms in the world, Trauma Team provides ambulance services and paramedic support for a client base of at least fifteen million people. Equipped with top-line AV type vehicles, Trauma Teams provide an essential service: recovering wounded clients from the field. Dispersed as needed among the offices are AV-4 aerodyne vehicles, Corporate jets, Osprey II aircraft, and C-29 heavy cargo jets. Each franchise office also has its own surgical-capable infirmary and arrangements with local hospitals for high-need patients. Endless street battles and the availability of surplus military hardware has forced the Trauma Team to armour up almost as heavily as the worst Psycho Squad. The uniforms are still blue, but the new helmets are mil-spec, heavy duty combat rigs, coupled with heavy armour, power armour support systems (yellow), and self-contained combat medipacs. 

Zhirafa Technical Manufacturing

Manufacturer of drone, autonomous robotics, and construction mecha

Where many other countries used technology to aid in their recovery and shore up their economies, Russia's ability to compete in the international tech market was still extremely limited. Russia's few technical exports weren't going far and were largely recognized by the rest of the world as poor-quality garbage.

This changed in 2039, when a street tech from Moscow brought the GRAF3 to the market. This new construction robot entered the market at a reasonable price point and proved itself to be durable and easily repairable. But most importantly, the GRAF3 was perfect for supporting the construction of the safe zones. It was cheap enough to be bought by local governments in bulk, and small communities could buy one and be sure it would last them years. In the chaotic post-virus atmosphere, there weren't many people who questioned how Zhirafa got founded or how it spread its influence so far across Russia so quickly after developing their first project. But rumours persist that the meteoric rise of Zhirafa can be  attributed to the activity of the Bratva criminal syndicate and their groups of allied Russian Nomads.

After breaking into the market with the giraffe-like GRAF3, the Corporation went on to rocket Russian tech to new heights with the release of several lines of drones and robots built for variable tasks. Besides the GRAF Line, the most notable and ubiquitous development of Zhirafa is the Savanna Line, a line of aerial and terrestrial combat drones for use by security and law enforcement. By the year 2045, many governments and Corporations across the world use Savanna Eagle and Savanna Panther Drones for security and law enforcement.

SovOil

Petrochemical products and agribusiness

By 1997, the Neo-Soviets had the capacity to recover only a fraction of the vast fields of oil lying under their federation. After a massive program of expansion and modernization, KeroSov, the previous state-run oil industry, became strong enough to break away from the oligarchs of the Federal Central Committee and become the Neo-Sovetskiy Neftyanoy Kombinat (Neo-Soviet Oil Combine aka SovOil). Now sitting on top of the world's largest remaining oil reservoirs, SovOil's oligarch leaders know that the oil won't flow forever. But they're still a wealthy and powerful Corporation, with unmatched access to an incredibly valuable commodity, plus a variety of other products and industries. Unfortunately for them, developments like Biotechnica's CHOOH2 have rapidly undermined their strategic dominance. In the mid-2010s SovOil and Petrochem fell into a disagreement over territories in the South China Sea, leading to a short, but savage, war that grievously wounded both Corporations. The result was that Petrochem decided to concentrate its efforts towards emerging CHOOH2 fuel technology, while SovOil was forced to dedicate its own to exploring the untapped oilfields of the long untouched Siberian region.

SovOil's Central Committee is already moving the pieces around in their long game, making plans that will carry the company into the next step of its evolution, when oil is no longer their prime source of income. The first step toward ensuring the company's survival is diversification. SovOil is the major economic force in the Neo-Soviet Union and much of Eastern Europe, and the company has a guaranteed market share in these areas. The more services and goods SovOil can provide the people of these regions, the better off the company will be when the oil runs out. SovOil is already active in mining, shipbuilding, research, and CHOOH2 agriculture. It's just beginning to move into aircraft, computers, synthetics, CHOOH2 power systems, and general agriculture. 

Other Corps of Note

Architech

Up and coming Corp, growing fast in cybernetics development & production.

Constitution Arms

Prominent arms manufacturer. Produces extremely heavy weaponry.

Dynalar Cybernetics

Big player in cybernetics design & manufacture.

GunMart

Low-quality weapons manufacturer.

Kendachi Arms

Japanese arms manufacturer. Specializes in mono-molecular blades.

Kiroshi Optics

A leading Corp in Cyberoptics design. Dominates the market.

Merrill, Asukaga & Finch:

Highly exclusive investment/financial counselling firm.

Raven Microcybernetics:

Once-powerful cybernetics Corp. Knocked down a peg by the arrival of Rocklin Augmentics.

Thornton Motor Company

Mid-tier vehicle manufacturer. Builds extremely durable ground cars.

WorldSat CommNet

International communications Corp. Rules direct A/V communication between cities.

Zetatech

Software and heavy machinery manufacturing Corp.

Electric England

Screamsheet news corporation doing corporate gossip