 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2018) |
| Formerly | Ink Development Corporation (1991-1993) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet, software, electronic commerce |
| Founded | May 10, 1991 |
| Founders | Arnold Blinn Matt Kursh Pierre Omidyar Will Poole Greg Stein |
| Defunct | June 11, 1996 |
| Fate | Acquired by Microsoft |
| Successor | Microsoft |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California |
| Divisions | eShop Plaza |
eShop Inc.[1] (formerly known as Ink Development Corporation)[2] was an American computer software company founded on May 10, 1991.[1][3] It was originally founded in San Mateo, California in 1991 to develop products for Go Corporation's PenPoint operating system. In later years, it developed software for the Windows for Pen Computing and Magic Cap platforms.[when?][citation needed]
In 1993, it was renamed to eShop Inc. and developed electronic commerce software, focusing primarily on the "business-to-consumer" marketplace.[citation needed] eShop Inc. launched eShop Plaza on November 7, 1995, which included stores from online merchants.[1][4][5]
eShop was acquired by Microsoft on June 11, 1996 for less than $50 million and eShop's technologies were integrated into Microsoft Merchant Server.[1][6][7] Pierre Omidyar, one of the founders of eShop, earned over $1 million from the deal and later founded eBay.[2]
- ^ a b c d Microsoft Acquires eShop Archived 2009-01-04 at the Wayback Machine (press release)
- ^ a b Viegas, Jannifer. Pierre Omidyar: The Founder of Ebay.
- ^ "ESHOP INC. :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
- ^ "eShop - In the News". 1996-10-18. Archived from the original on 1996-10-18. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- ^ "Tower, Spiegal join eShop Web Mall". 1995-11-08. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
- ^ "MS adds eShop to its buying spree". CNET. 1996-06-11. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
- ^ "Microsoft Corp acquires eShop Inc (1996/06/11) - Thomson Financial Mergers & Acquisitions - AlacraStore.com". 2009-08-03. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2018-09-13.