Hewlett-Packard

Major manufacturer of computer and telecommunications hardware, founded in 1939 by William Hewlett and David Packard and based in Palo Alto, California. In May 2002, Hewlett-Packard (which had grown into the second-largest computer company in the USA) merged with Compaq Computer Corporation, the number three, creating a computer giant almost as big as IBM. In 2006 HP's annual revenue exceeded that of IBM, making it the largest computer company worldwide.

Founded in a garage, HP's earliest products were electronic test instruments. In the PC era, the company became the leading manufacturer of printers, but now supplies all types of computer equipment.