Which came first, Google or Netflix?
Netflix came first, by one year. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded a DVD rental-by-post company.
Side by side
| Netflix | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1998 | 1997 |
| Date | 1998-09-04 | 1997-08-29 |
| Category | technology | technology |
| What happened | Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park. | Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded a DVD rental-by-post company. |
The date used here is the incorporation, 4 September 1998. Two others compete: the research project called BackRub began at Stanford in 1996, and the google.com domain was registered on 15 September 1997. Google itself has celebrated its birthday on four different September dates over the years, which is a fair indication that no single one is correct. It is younger than Amazon, eBay and Netflix.
Netflix
Netflix was founded in August 1997, a year before Google, and posted DVDs for a decade before streaming launched in January 2007. The famous origin story — Hastings founding it after a $40 late fee on Apollo 13 — has been called a useful myth by co-founder Marc Randolph. Blockbuster declined to buy the company for $50 million in 2000.
Common questions
- Which came first, Google or Netflix?
- Netflix, by one year — 1997 against 1998.
- When did Google start?
- 1998. Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park.
- When did Netflix start?
- 1997. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded a DVD rental-by-post company.
Related pages
- Microsoft or Netflix? Microsoft
- Apple or Netflix? Apple
- Apple or Google? Apple
- the internet (ARPANET) or Netflix? the internet (ARPANET)
- the internet (ARPANET) or Google? the internet (ARPANET)
- email or Netflix? email
- email or Google? email
- the Macintosh or Netflix? the Macintosh
- Java or Netflix? Java
- JavaScript or Netflix? JavaScript
- Amazon or Netflix? Amazon
- Amazon or Google? Amazon
Sources
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)