Forethought, Inc.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Rob Campbell, Taylor Pohlman |
| Fate | Acquired by Microsoft Corporation |
| Successor | Microsoft PowerPoint |
Key people | Robert Gaskins, Dennis Austin |
| Products | PowerPoint (originally Presenter), FileMaker (Macintosh version) |
Forethought, Inc. was a software enterprise primarily recognized for creating the program that evolved into Microsoft PowerPoint.
History
Established in late 1983 by Rob Campbell and Taylor Pohlman with the goal of developing object-oriented bit-mapped software, Forethought brought on Robert Gaskins in 1984, providing him with a substantial equity stake. Gaskins, along with developer Dennis Austin, spearheaded the development of Presenter, which was subsequently renamed PowerPoint. In the same year, Forethought secured publishing rights for a Macintosh adaptation of the DOS-based software Nutshell, rebranding it as FileMaker, which went on to achieve notable commercial success.
The initial release of PowerPoint 1.0 occurred in 1987 for the Apple Macintosh, originally designed in black and white for use with overhead transparencies. A color version was introduced following the launch of the first color Macintosh model. Later in 1987, Microsoft Corporation acquired Forethought for $14 million (~$ in ). The debut Windows versions compatible with Windows 3.0 were launched in May 1990. Since its introduction, PowerPoint has remained an integral part of the Microsoft Office suite (with the exception of the Basic Edition), commanding approximately 95% of the presentation software market share.