Opera Software SuccessStory

Founded in 1995, by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy, Opera Software is a Norwegiansoftware company that aims at delivering high-end Internet experience to over 350 million users across the globe. They have developed and sold a number of web browsers that enable users to access the web through a multiple variety of devices, including desktops and laptops, smartphones, tablets, phablets etc.

The Commencement

Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy founded this software company as an independent enterprise in 1995. In 1997, they released their first Opera 2.1 web browser, and started a project in 1998 which aimed at enabling Opera browser access to multiple platforms. In 2000, they released Opera 4.0 version, which included a new multi-platform capability. Until the 4th version, Opera browser was just a trial offer, and the consumers had to purchase it after the end of the trial period. But version 5 released later in 2000 ended this trial period, and it became free to use with the help of advertisements and sponsorships.

In January 2005, they started offering free licensing to institutions of higher education, which included Harvard University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With their version 8.5, they entirely removed advertisements from the browser, and their financial support started coming from Google, which became their search engine by default. In 2012, Bharti Airtel and Opera Software joined hands to give Opera Mini browser to all Airtel mobile users. In the following years, they announced acquisitions of several renowned names, including AdMarvel, FastMail.FM, Handster, Skyfire, AdColony etc.