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 Logo designed by Paul Rand | |
 Redwood City headquarters at 900 Chesapeake Drive, July 2022 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Steve Jobs |
| Defunct | 1997 |
| Fate | Merged into Apple Computer, Inc. |
| Successor | Apple Inc. |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people |
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| Products | |
Number of employees | 530 (1993) |
| Website | next.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 1997-04-12) |
NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later developed web software. It was founded in 1985 by CEO Steve Jobs, the Apple Computer co-founder who had been forcibly removed from Apple that year.[1][2] NeXT debuted with the NeXT Computer in 1988, and released the NeXTcube and smaller NeXTstation in 1990. The series had relatively limited sales, with only about 50,000 total units shipped. Nevertheless, the object-oriented programming and graphical user interface were highly influential trendsetters of computer innovation.
NeXT partnered with Sun Microsystems to create a programming environment called OpenStep, which decoupled the NeXTSTEP operating system's application layer to host it on third-party operating systems. In 1993, NeXT withdrew from the hardware industry to concentrate on marketing OPENSTEP for Mach, its own OpenStep implementation for several other computer vendors. NeXT developed WebObjects, one of the first enterprise web frameworks, and although its market appeal was limited by its high price of US$50,000 (equivalent to $100,000 in 2023), it is a prominent early example of dynamic web pages rather than static content.
Apple merged with NeXT in 1997 as part of a $427 million deal, including 1.5 million shares of Apple stock. The deal appointed Steve Jobs, then the chairman and CEO of NeXT, to an advisory role at Apple; and OPENSTEP for Mach was combined with the classic Mac OS, to create Rhapsody and Mac OS X.
Many successful applications have lineage from NeXT, including the first web browser and the video games Doom and Quake.[3]
- ^ "Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs attempts a boardroom coup". May 23, 2023.
- ^ "When Steve Jobs Got Fired by Apple". ABC News.
- ^ "GameTales: Cray 6400". January 31, 2010.