Adobe Systems

Adobe Systems

Adobe Systems Incorporated ( /əˈdoʊbiː/ ə-DOH-bee) (NASDAQ: ADBE) is an American multinational computer software company headquartered in San Jose, California, United States. The company has historically focused upon the creation of multimedia and creativity software products, with a more-recent foray towards rich Internet application software development.

Adobe was founded in December 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, who established the company after leaving Xerox PARC in order to develop and sell the PostScript page description language. In 1985, Apple Computer licensed PostScript for use in its LaserWriter printers, which helped spark the desktop publishing revolution. The company name Adobe comes from Adobe Creek in Los Altos, California, which ran behind the houses of both of the company's founders. Adobe acquired its former competitor, Macromedia, in December 2005, which added newer software products and platforms such as ColdFusion, Dreamweaver, Flash and Flex to its product portfolio.

As of 2010, Adobe Systems has 9,117 employees, about 40% of whom work in San Jose. Adobe also has major development operations in Orlando; Seattle; San Francisco; Lehi, Utah; Minneapolis; Waltham, Massachusetts; and San Luis Obispo, California in the United States; Ottawa, Canada; Hamburg, Germany; Noida and Bangalore, India; Bucharest, Romania; Basel, Switzerland; and Beijing, China.