Pyra Labs
| Company type | Division (after acquisition) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Evan Williams, Meg Hourihan |
| Fate | Acquired by Google |
| Successor | |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Blogger platform, Pyra (web-based project management tool) |
| Parent | Google (Alphabet) |
Pyra Labs operates as a division under Google (Alphabet) and is recognized for developing the Blogger platform back in 1999. The company was acquired by Google in 2003.
History
Pyra Labs was established by Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan. Their first product, named "Pyra," was a web-based tool integrating project management, contact organization, and task lists. Developer Paul Bausch adapted an FTP application to allow users to upload content directly to web pages, which ultimately resulted in the creation of Blogger in 1999. Initially designed as an internal resource, Blogger became publicly available in August 1999, with substantial programming efforts contributed by Bausch and Matthew Haughey.
At its inception, Blogger was offered free of charge without any monetization strategy. By January 2001, due to financial constraints, Pyra appealed to its user base for donations to support a new server. After exhausting initial funding, staff members worked without compensation until most, including co-founder Hourihan, departed. Williams persisted independently until he secured funding from Trellix, influenced by founder Dan Bricklin. This investment facilitated the introduction of ad-supported Blogspot along with Blogger Pro.
In 2002, the Blogger platform underwent a complete rewrite to enable licensing agreements with other companies, beginning with Globo.com in Brazil. On February 17, 2003, Pyra Labs was purchased by Google for an undisclosed sum.