History of VMware in Timeline

VMware LLC, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is a prominent American company specializing in cloud computing and virtualization technology. Notably, VMware achieved the groundbreaking feat of being the first entity to successfully commercialize the virtualization of the x86 architecture.

1998: VMware is Founded

VMware was founded in 1998 by Diane Greene, Mendel Rosenblum, Scott Devine, Ellen Wang, and Edouard Bugnion.

February 1999: VMware Officially Launches

After a year in stealth mode, VMware officially launched in February 1999 at the DEMO conference.

May 1999: VMware Workstation is Released

In May 1999, VMware released its first product, VMware Workstation.

2001: VMware Enters the Server Market

VMware entered the server market in 2001 with the release of VMware GSX Server and VMware ESX Server.

December 15, 2003: EMC Announces Agreement to Acquire VMware

EMC announced its intention to acquire VMware on December 15, 2003.

2003: VMware Launches Key Virtualization Technologies

VMware had a busy year in 2003, launching VMware Virtual Center, vMotion, and Virtual Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) technology.

January 9, 2004: EMC Acquires VMware

On January 9, 2004, EMC acquired VMware for $625 million in cash.

2004: VMware Introduces 64-bit Support

In 2004, VMware introduced 64-bit support to its products.

2005: Edouard Bugnion Leaves VMware

Edouard Bugnion, co-founder and CTO of VMware, left the company in 2005 to found Nuova Systems.

August 14, 2007: VMware Goes Public

On August 14, 2007, EMC sold 15% of VMware to the public through an initial public offering (IPO).

July 8, 2008: Diane Greene is Fired from VMware

After a period of disappointing financial results, VMware's board of directors made the decision to fire co-founder and CEO Diane Greene on July 8, 2008. Paul Maritz, who had been leading EMC's cloud computing business unit, stepped in to replace her.

September 10, 2008: Mendel Rosenblum Resigns from VMware

Following the firing of his wife, Diane Greene, Mendel Rosenblum, co-founder and chief scientist of VMware, resigned from the company on September 10, 2008.

September 16, 2008: VMware and Cisco Systems Announce Collaboration

On September 16, 2008, VMware and Cisco Systems announced a strategic partnership. This collaboration led to the development of the Cisco Nexus 1000V, a distributed virtual software switch designed to integrate with VMware's infrastructure.

April 12, 2011: VMware Releases Cloud Foundry

On April 12, 2011, VMware launched Cloud Foundry, an open-source platform-as-a-service (PaaS). VMware also introduced a hosted version of this service. Cloud Foundry was designed to support application deployment for various programming languages, including Java, Ruby on Rails, Sinatra, Node.js, and Scala. It also offered database support for MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, PostgreSQL, and RabbitMQ.

April 2011: EMC Transfers Mozy to VMware

In April 2011, EMC made the decision to transfer control of its Mozy backup service to VMware.

August 2012: Pat Gelsinger Becomes CEO of VMware

In August 2012, Pat Gelsinger was appointed as the new CEO of VMware, transitioning from his role at EMC. Paul Maritz, the outgoing CEO, took on the position of Head of Strategy at EMC before eventually leading the Pivotal spin-off.

March 2013: VMware Spins Off Pivotal Software

In March 2013, VMware spun off Pivotal Software as a separate entity, with General Electric making an investment in the newly formed company. This restructuring led to the transfer of most of VMware's application- and developer-focused products, including Spring, tc Server, Cloud Foundry, RabbitMQ, GemFire, and SQLFire, to Pivotal Software.

May 2013: VMware Launches vCloud Hybrid Service

VMware launched its own Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering, vCloud Hybrid Service, in May 2013. The launch took place at VMware's new headquarters in Palo Alto, and an early access program was announced, centered around a data center in Las Vegas. This service was later renamed vCloud Air and subsequently sold to cloud provider OVH.

September 2013: VMware Announces General Availability of vCloud Hybrid Service

At VMworld San Francisco in September 2013, VMware announced the general availability of its vCloud Hybrid Service. The company also revealed its plans to expand the service to additional locations, including Sterling, Virginia; Santa Clara, California; and Dallas, Texas. A beta version of the service was also launched in the UK.

October 2013: VMware Acquires Desktone

VMware acquired Desktone in October 2013.

March 2015: Software Freedom Conservancy Funds Litigation Against VMware Over Copyright Claims

In March 2015, The Software Freedom Conservancy announced its financial support for a lawsuit filed by Christoph Hellwig against VMware in Hamburg, Germany. Hellwig alleged that VMware violated his copyrights with its ESXi product, claiming it was derived from the GPLv2-licensed Linux kernel 2.4 without adhering to the license's source code publication requirements. VMware denied these claims, stating that ESXi wasn't a Linux kernel derivative.

January 2016: VMware Announces Restructuring and Layoffs

In anticipation of Dell's acquisition of EMC, VMware announced a restructuring plan in January 2016. This involved the elimination of around 800 positions, and several executives resigned. The entire development team responsible for VMware Workstation and Fusion was dissolved, and all US-based developers within that team were laid off.

April 2016: Key Executives Leave VMware

In April 2016, Carl Eschenbach, VMware's president and COO, left the company to join Sequoia Capital. Around the same time, Martin Casado, the general manager for Networking and Security, also departed to join Andreessen Horowitz.

April 24, 2016: VMware Releases Workstation 12.1.1

VMware released a maintenance update for its Workstation software, version 12.1.1, on April 24, 2016.

July 2016: Lawsuit Against VMware Dismissed, Hellwig Announces Appeal

The lawsuit filed against VMware was dismissed by a German court in July 2016. Christoph Hellwig, the plaintiff, expressed his intention to appeal the decision.

August 2016: VMware Launches Cloud Provider Website

VMware launched a dedicated website for its cloud provider partners in August 2016.

September 8, 2016: VMware Releases Workstation 12.5 and Fusion 8.5

VMware announced the release of Workstation 12.5 and Fusion 8.5 on September 8, 2016. These updates were offered as a free upgrade and included support for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.

2016: Dell Transfers Mozy Back to Dell

Following the merger of Dell and EMC, the Mozy backup service was transferred back to Dell's control in 2016.

April 2017: VMware Ranked High on Glassdoor's List of Highest Paying Companies

In April 2017, VMware earned a spot as the third highest paying company in the United States, according to Glassdoor's annual rankings.

2017: VMware Sells vCloud Air to OVH

During the second quarter of 2017, VMware sold its vCloud Air service to the French cloud provider OVH.

February 2019: German Court Dismisses Appeal Against VMware

Christoph Hellwig's appeal against the dismissal of his lawsuit against VMware was rejected by a German court in February 2019. The court cited failure to meet "procedural requirements for the burden of proof of the plaintiff" as the reason for dismissal.

January 13, 2021: Pat Gelsinger Exits VMware to Lead Intel

VMware announced on January 13, 2021, that CEO Pat Gelsinger would be leaving the company to take on the CEO role at Intel, where he had previously spent a significant portion of his career.

April 15, 2021: Dell Announces Plan to Spin Off VMware

On April 15, 2021, Dell announced its intention to spin off its remaining stake in VMware, distributing shares to Dell shareholders. Despite the spinoff, the two companies planned to maintain their existing operational relationship for at least five years.

May 12, 2021: Raghu Raghuram Becomes CEO of VMware

VMware appointed Raghu Raghuram as its new CEO on May 12, 2021.

November 1, 2021: Dell Completes Spin-Off of VMware

The spin-off of VMware from Dell was finalized on November 1, 2021.

January 2022: Hackers Exploit Log4Shell Vulnerability in VMware Servers

Beginning in January 2022, hackers began exploiting the Log4Shell vulnerability to target unpatched VMware servers.

March 2022: Hackers Install Backdoors and Mine Cryptocurrency on VMware Servers Using Log4Shell

Reports emerged in March 2022 that hackers were leveraging the Log4Shell vulnerability to install backdoors and conduct cryptocurrency mining on vulnerable VMware servers.

May 2022: VMware Partners with McLaren Racing

In May 2022, VMware announced a partnership with the Formula One racing team, McLaren Racing.

May 2022: Lazarus Group Exploits Log4Shell to Target VMware Horizon Servers

In May 2022, cybersecurity researchers revealed that the Lazarus Group, a cybercrime organization potentially linked to North Korea, was actively exploiting the Log4Shell vulnerability to install backdoors on VMware Horizon servers, aiming to steal sensitive information.

May 26, 2022: Broadcom Announces Intent to Acquire VMware

On May 26, 2022, Broadcom revealed its plan to purchase VMware for approximately $61 billion in a cash and stock deal. The agreement also included Broadcom assuming $8 billion of VMware's existing debt. Following the acquisition, Broadcom's Software Group would be rebranded as VMware.

November 2022: UK Competition Authority Investigates Broadcom's Acquisition of VMware

In November 2022, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initiated an investigation into Broadcom's proposed acquisition of VMware. The investigation aimed to determine if the deal would reduce competition in the UK market for goods and services.

May 2023: VMware Ordered to Pay $84.5 Million for Patent Infringement

A court ordered VMware to pay $84.5 million in May 2023 for infringing on two patents held by Densify, a Canadian software company.

November 22, 2023: Broadcom Inc. acquires VMware

On November 22, 2023, Broadcom Inc. completed the acquisition of VMware in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at US$69 billion. As part of the deal, VMware's End-User Computing (UEC) Division was sold to KKR.

December 13, 2023: VMware Shifts to Subscription-Only Model, Ends Perpetual Licenses

VMware discontinued perpetual licenses for its products, including vSphere and Cloud Foundation, on December 13, 2023, transitioning to a subscription-based model. This move, according to VMware, was planned before the Broadcom acquisition.

February 2024: KKR Acquires Broadcom's End-User Computing Division

In February 2024, private equity firm KKR entered into an agreement with Broadcom to acquire its End-User Computing (EUC) Division, a former part of VMware, for $4 billion. This acquisition includes products such as Horizon VDI and the Workspace ONE device management suite (formerly known as AirWatch).

May 14, 2024: VMware Makes Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro Free for Personal Use

VMware announced on May 14, 2024, that its Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro software would be available for free for personal use. While commercial use would still require payment, this move aimed to make the products more accessible to individual users.