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Adobe history
Adobe company history timeline
Since 1982 Adobe has been delivering award-winning software and technologies that have redefined and advanced business and personal communications.
In 1983 Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.), acquired 15 percent of Adobe and became the first licensee of PostScript.
As Adobe Systems Inc.’s first product on the market in 1984, Adobe PostScript was soon followed by Adobe’s other graphic technologies at the time, Illustrator, Photoshop and Type Manager.
In 1985 they had collected $1.9 million in sales.
In 1985 Apple introduced the first Macintosh-compatible PostScript printer, the LaserWriter, based on a laser-print engine developed by Canon Inc.
Adobe entered the NASDAQ Composite index in August 1986.
In 1986, their revenues had touched $16 million out of which their income was around $4 million.
In 1986, Adobe signed an agreement to supply Texas Instruments Inc. with the software for two of its laser printers, producing the first PostScript-equipped printers made for use with IBM-compatible personal computers.
The first such application, introduced in 1987, was Adobe Illustrator, a PostScript-based drawing package for artists, designers, and technical illustrators.
In 1988, the company posted revenues of $85 million, more than double that of last year.
By 1988 many industries and universities had adopted the Illustrator standard.
In 1988 more than 25 PostScript printers and typesetters were on the market and 20 computer corporations had signed PostScript licensing agreements with Adobe.
At the 1989 MacWorld Exposition in San Francisco, Adobe introduced two new applications.
in February 1990 -Adobe took a leadership position in digital imaging with the release of Adobe Photoshop.
In 1990 the company had total revenues of $170 million out of which their net income was $40 million.
Late in 1990, Adobe acquired BluePoint Technologies, a leading creator of chips for rendering type.
The company celebrated another year of record earnings in 1991.
In June 1992, Adobe President and CEO Charles Geschke was kidnapped.
Adobe's efforts to create a universal standard for viewing complex documents continued in 1992.
Adobe's revenues for the year rose to $313.4 million, up from $265.9 million in 1992, and net income was reported at $57 million.
In 1992, Adobe acquired OCR Systems, Inc.
With the introduction of Adobe Premiere 3.0 for Macintosh in 1993, Adobe entered the fields of video and multimedia.
Adobe was unfamiliar with Frame's enterprise market, and the unit began to lose money soon after the transaction was completed in 1995.
Also in 1995 Adobe bought Ceneca Communications, which developed tools for creating Web pages.
In 1995, Adobe added FrameMaker, the long-document DTP application, to its product line after Adobe acquired Frame Technology Corp.
In 1996 Adobe released its first title aimed at consumers, a simplified photo-editing program called PhotoDeluxe.
Also in 1996 Adobe spun off its pre-press division to Luminous Corporation for about $43.6 million and moved its headquarters from Mountain View to downtown San Jose.
In 1996 Adobe Flash®—which today is installed on nearly 98% of all Internet-connected desktops—began providing the most advanced way to create interactive Websites, interact with digital games and entertainment, and drive mobile content.
In 1996, Adobe acquired Ares Software Corp.
By 1997 almost 80 percent of Adobe’s total revenues came from application sales, and that year marked the first time that Windows-product revenues exceeded Macintosh-product revenues.
In 1997 Hewlett-Packard chose to stop licensing PostScript from Adobe when it developed its own clone version of the software.
In August 1998, Adobe indicated that third-quarter revenues would not meet expectations.
But in 1998 the company faced a huge setback as Hewlett-Packard developed its clone of the PostScript software and thus Adobe’s sales and licensing decreased by nearly 40%. Its stock price fell to less than half of that one week ago.
In 1998 PDF became the new image format for the Macintosh operating system.
While earning his doctorate degree in electrical engineering at the University of Utah, Warnock—who would be named one of the "Ten Revolutionaries of Computing" in 1998 by Computer Reseller News —had worked for IBM Corp., as well as a handful of other technology companies.
Profit reached $72 million, up greatly compared with a loss of $6.1 million for the third quarter of 1998.
In September 1999 Adobe reported record revenues of $260.9 million for the third quarter.
In 1999, the firm unveiled PDF Merchant, which allows publishers to prevent individuals from downloading PDF files until they have purchased the right to do so.
In January 2000 Adobe was named one of the 100 best companies to work for in America by Fortune.
Adding to its e-books holdings, Adobe purchased display software manufacturer Glassbook Inc. in August of 2000.
In the October 2000 issue of Forbes Elizabeth Corcoran wrote, "Pull up the Bridgestone/Firestone Web site to learn about defective tires and it tells you to use Adobe's free Acrobat Reader to see a graphical interpretation of the hieroglyphics on your tires' sidewalls.
In 2000, Warnock and Geschke, co-founders of an growing 18-year old company, assumed the positions of co-chairmen of the board.
By 2001, Internet publishing products accounted for more than 50 percent of Adobe's revenues.
In 2002, Adobe acquired Canadian company Accelio (also known as JetForm).
In May 2003 Adobe purchased audio editing and multitrack recording software Cool Edit Pro from Syntrillium Software for $16.5 million, as well as a large loop library called "Loopology". Adobe then renamed Cool Edit Pro to "Adobe Audition" and included it in the Creative Suite.
Launched in 2003, Adobe Flex™ gave the enterprise a powerful set of building blocks for creating a richer, more responsive presentation tier for enterprise applications.
Adobe’s LiveCycle® family, introduced in 2004, enables enterprises to automate and simplify the flow of information and secures business processes beyond the firewall.
In 2005 Adobe acquired Macromedia, Inc.
In December 2006, Adobe became the world’s first commercial enterprise to receive three Platinum certifications from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)-Existing Building Program for its facilities in San Jose.
In 2006, Adobe introduced Adobe Youth Voices to help young creatives to express themselves and share their creativities.
In 2006 Adobe launched a signature philanthropy program, Adobe Youth Voices, aimed at helping young people everywhere acquire valuable technology skills while developing deeper connections with their communities.
Adobe released Adobe Media Player in April 2008.
Creative Suite 4, which includes Design, Web, Production Premium, and Master Collection came out in October 2008 in six configurations at prices from about US$1,700 to $2,500 or by individual application.
In 2008 Adobe Media Player was introduced as a competitor to Apple’s iTunes, Windows Media Player, and RealPlayer from RealNetworks, Inc.
On September 15, 2009, Adobe Systems announced that it would acquire online marketing and web analytics company Omniture for $1.8 billion.
In July 2010, Adobe bought Day Software integrating their line of CQ Products: WCM, DAM, SOCO, and Mobile
By the year 2010, the company reached close to $3 billion in sales revenue.
In January 2011, Adobe acquired DemDex, Inc. with the intent of adding DemDex's audience-optimization software to its online marketing suite.
In November 2011, Adobe announced that they would cease development of Flash for mobile devices following version 11.1.
As everything goes toward the web, in 2011, Adobe released the first version of Adobe Creative Cloud.
At Photoshop World 2011, Adobe unveiled a new mobile photo service.
In December 2012, Adobe opened a new 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m) corporate campus in Lehi, Utah.
The last version of CS was released in 2012, known as CS6.
In 2012, about 40 million sets of payment card information were compromised by a hack of Adobe.
As of 2013, Adobe has more than 11,000 employees and sales revenue in excess of $4.30 billion.
In May 2014, it was revealed the four companies, Adobe, Apple, Google, and Intel had reached agreement with the plaintiffs, 64,000 employees of the four companies, to pay a sum of $324.5 million to settle the suit.
In May 2018, Adobe stated they would buy e-commerce services provider Magento Commerce from private equity firm Permira for $1.68 billion.
In September 2018, Adobe announced its acquisition of marketing automation software company Marketo.
In October 2018, Adobe officially changed its name from Adobe Systems Incorporated to Adobe Inc.
In January 2019, Adobe announced its acquisition of 3D texturing company Allegorithmic.
On November 9, 2020, Adobe announced it will spend US$1.5 billion to acquire Workfront, a provider of marketing collaboration software.
In 2020, the company updated its visual identity, including updating its logo to a single color, an all-red logo that is warmer and more contemporary.
On September 15, 2021, Adobe Inc formally announced that it will add payment services to its e-commerce platform this year, allowing merchants on their platform a method to accept payments including credit cards and PayPal.
The transaction is valued at $1.275 billion and closed during the fourth quarter of Adobe’s 2021 fiscal year.
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Adobe competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 1975 | $245.1B | 182,268 | 2,754 |
| IBM | 1911 | $62.8B | 270,000 | 4,137 |
| HP | 1939 | $53.6B | 53,000 | 429 |
| Nuance Communications | 1992 | $1.4B | 6,501 | - |
| 1998 | $350.0B | 139,995 | 4,098 | |
| Dell | 1984 | $95.6B | 165,000 | 141 |
| VMware | 1998 | $13.4B | 31,000 | 2 |
| Intel | 1968 | $53.1B | 121,100 | 459 |
| Juniper Networks | 1996 | $5.1B | 9,400 | - |
| Box | 2005 | $1.1B | 1,934 | 112 |
Adobe history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Adobe, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Adobe. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Adobe. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Adobe. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Adobe and its employees or that of Zippia.
Adobe may also be known as or be related to Adobe, Adobe Inc., Adobe Systems (Delaware) Incorporated, Adobe Systems Co., Ltd., Adobe Systems Incorporated and Adobe Systems Incorporated (1982–2018).