The Illuminati feared that augmentation technology would cause society and human evolution itself to go beyond their ability to control, jeopardizing their centuries-old vision of a better human society under their management. They decided to implant in every augmented person a biochip that would allow them to limit or shut down a person's augmentations at will. The chip was designed with the aid of Sarif Industries engineers that the Illuminati kidnapped in a raid on Sarif Industries HQ in Detroit, and was manufactured and distributed by Tai Yong Medical.