COMPANY FILE · EST. 1939

Hewlett-Packard

Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded their company in Palo Alto in 1939. Their first product, the HP 200A audio oscillator, served engineers who needed reliable test equipment; Walt Disney Studios ordered eight units for the sound systems used in Fantasia theaters. HP’s early work shows how measurement instruments and industrial customers, as well as computers, shaped the region’s technology industry.