Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley, and known for consumer electronics, software and online services. Founded in 1976 as the Apple Computer Company by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, the company was incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. the following year. Its current name was adopted in 2007 as the company expanded its focus from computers to consumer electronics. Apple is one of the Big Tech companies. The company was founded to market Wozniak's Apple I computer. Its successor, the Apple II, became one of the first successful mass-produced personal microcomputers. Apple introduced the Lisa in 1983 and the Macintosh in 1984, popularizing graphical user interfaces navigated by a mouse. By 1985, internal conflicts led to Jobs leaving the company to form NeXT and Wozniak stepping back from active employment. During the 1990s, Apple lost considerable market share to lower-priced Wintel computers, Intel-powered PC clones running Windows. By 1997, Apple was reporting major losses and struggling to deliver a modernized operating system, leading Apple to acquire NeXT, which brought Jobs back to the company. Under his leadership, Apple returned to profitability through the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, the iTunes Store, the Apple Store retail chain, and the "Think different" advertising campaign. Jobs resigned in 2011 for health reasons and died later that year. He was succeeded as CEO by Tim Cook, who will be succeeded by John Ternus in September 2026. Apple's product lineup includes portable and home hardware like the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods; several in-house operating systems such as iOS, iPadOS, and macOS; and various software and services including Apple Pay and iCloud, as well as multimedia streaming services like Apple Music and Apple TV. Since 2011, Apple has for the most part been the world's largest company by market capitalization, and, as of 2024, is the largest manufacturing company by revenue, the fourth-largest PC vendor, the largest vendor of tablet computers, and the largest vendor of mobile phones. Apple became the first publicly traded US company to be valued at over $1 trillion in 2018, and, as of October 2025, is valued at just over $4 trillion. Apple has received criticism regarding its contractors' labor conditions, its relationship with trade unions, its environmental practices, and its corporate ethics, including anti-competitive tactics, materials sourcing, and its acquisitions of smaller businesses. Nevertheless, the company has a large following and enjoys a high level of customer loyalty. Apple has consistently been ranked as one of the world's most valuable brands since the late 2000s.
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Who Founded Apple Inc.?
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor. A pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. with his early business partner Steve Wozniak as Apple Computer Company in 1976. After the company's board of directors fired him in 1985, he founded NeXT the same year and purchased Pixar in 1986, becoming its chairman and majority shareholder until 2007. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as CEO, where he was closely involved with the creation and promotion of many of the company's most influential products until his resignation in 2011.
Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Inc. (originally called Apple Computer) with his early business partner Steve Jobs. Through his work at Apple in the 1970s and 1980s, he is widely recognized as one of the most prominent pioneers of the personal computer revolution. In 1975, Wozniak started developing the Apple I into the computer that launched Apple when he and Jobs first began marketing it the following year. He was the primary designer of the Apple II, introduced in 1977, known as one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputers, while Jobs oversaw the development of its foam-molded plastic case and early Apple employee Rod Holt developed its switching power supply. With human–computer interface expert Jef Raskin, Wozniak had a major influence over the initial development of the original Macintosh concepts from 1979 to 1981, when Jobs took over the project following Wozniak's brief departure from the company due to a traumatic airplane accident. After permanently leaving Apple in 1985, Wozniak founded CL 9 and created the first programmable universal remote, released in 1987. He then pursued several other business and philanthropic ventures throughout his career, focusing largely on technology in K–12 schools, which involved a 1990 initiative to place computers in schools in the former Soviet Union. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work in philanthropy and the tech industry, including an induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000. As of June 2024, Wozniak has remained an employee of Apple in a ceremonial capacity since stepping down in 1985. In recent years, he has helped fund multiple entrepreneurial efforts dealing in areas such as GPS and telecommunications, flash memory, technology and pop culture conventions, technical education, ecology, satellites and more. In addition to his American citizenship, Wozniak is also a Polish and Serbian citizen.
Frequently Asked Questions about Apple Inc.
Who runs Apple Inc.?
Leadership and ownership at Apple Inc. has evolved over its history. It was originally founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who established the vision for the company.
Who is responsible for Apple Inc.?
The founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, were responsible for the initial creation and early success of Apple Inc..