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Compaq Superseded

Compaq
KindCompany
Founded1982
Defunct2002
StatusSuperseded
FoundersCanion, Harris & Murto
FieldPersonal computers
Sourceen.wikipedia.org ↗

Portable first, clone king second — reverse-engineered the IBM BIOS legally and briefly became the world's largest PC maker. Bought DEC in 1998, was bought by HP in 2002.

Acquired by Hewlett-Packard
Acquisitions Digital Equipment Corporation Tandem Computers

Three TI defectors founded Compaq in February 1982 and reverse-engineered IBM's BIOS cleanly (the $1 million legal defense held). The Compaq Portable (1983) — 28 lb, IBM-compatible — made the company the fastest-growing startup ever at the time; by the mid-90s it was the largest PC maker.

The 1998 DEC acquisition ($9.6 billion) was meant to buy enterprise credibility; it bought Compaq the minicomputer's decline instead. Carly Fiorina's HP merged with Compaq in 2002 — the most contentious merger in tech history up to then.

Sources

  1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaq