Be Inc.

Be Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: BEOS
IndustryComputer hardware
Computer software
Foundedc. October 1990; 34 years ago (1990-10)
Founder
DefunctMarch 15, 2002 (2002-03-15)[1]
FateDissolved
HeadquartersMenlo Park, California, United States[2]
Key people
Jean-Louis Gassée (CEO)
ProductsBeOS, BeBox, BeIA
Number of employees
98 (as of 1998)[3]
Websitebe.com at the Wayback Machine (archived October 9, 2001)

Be Inc. was an American computer company that created and developed the BeOS and BeIA operating systems, and the BeBox personal computer.[4] It was founded in 1990 by former Apple Computer executive Jean-Louis Gassée, who also served as the company's CEO, and was based in Menlo Park, California.

The company's main intent was to develop a new operating system using the C++ programming language on a proprietary hardware platform; although the result received a mainly positive reception, it had little commercial success. BeOS was initially exclusive to the BeBox before being ported to the Power Macintosh and then to the Intel x86 architecture. After a stint in Internet appliances with BeIA, Be's assets were purchased by Palm, Inc. in 2001.

  1. ^ "Be Inc. Is not to be".
  2. ^ San Jose, California before c. 1995. Mountain View, California during its non-operational dissolution after 2002.
  3. ^ "Should you be in on be Inc.'s IPO?".
  4. ^ "The Register". The Register. 2002-02-03. Archived from the original on 2002-02-03. Retrieved 2023-11-23.