Oracle Corporation

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates co-founded Oracle on June 16, 1977, in Santa Clara, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL). Ellison took inspiration from Edgar F. Codd's 1970 paper on relational database management systems. SDL changed its name to Relational Software, Inc (RSI) in 1979, then to Oracle Systems Corporation in 1983, aligning with its flagship product Oracle Database. The name also drew from a 1977 CIA project codename, Oracle's first customer; according to Oracle executive Mike Humphries, Miner told him the founders flipped a coin to decide between the CIA database project and another offer. By February 1983, the Rosen Electronics Letter called Oracle 'the most comprehensive offering we've seen' among databases. On March 12, 1986, the company had its initial public offering. In 1989, Oracle moved its world headquarters to Redwood Shores, California, though its campus was not completed until 1995. In the late 1980s, Oracle began selling enterprise software, starting with financial software, then manufacturing. Acquisitions of JD Edwards and PeopleSoft (the second hostile takeover in software history) allowed Oracle to compete with SAP; by the mid-2000s it was the world's largest enterprise software vendor. In 2010, Oracle launched Fusion Applications to unify features from acquisitions PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems, and JD Edwards. On July 15, 2013, Oracle transferred its stock listing from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, the largest-ever U.S. market transfer at the time. In December 2020, Oracle announced it was moving its world headquarters from Redwood Shores to Austin, Texas. In April 2024, Oracle announced it was moving its world headquarters from Austin to a new complex in Nashville, Tennessee, with no timeframe given.

Reader's Guide

Oracle's significance lies in its foundational role in commercializing relational database technology, which became the backbone of enterprise data management. Its aggressive acquisition strategy—including the hostile takeover of PeopleSoft—allowed it to build a comprehensive software stack, from databases to enterprise resource planning and cloud infrastructure. The company's later pivot to cloud computing, marked by partnerships with Microsoft (announced 2019, expanded 2023), Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud, positioned it as a major player in AI infrastructure. Oracle's investments in data centers globally—$1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia (February 2023), $1 billion in Spain (June 2024), $8 billion in Japan, $6.5 billion in Malaysia, $5 billion in the United Kingdom, and $3 billion in Germany and the Netherlands—underscore its ongoing influence. In January 2025, President Donald Trump announced Stargate, a joint venture by Oracle, OpenAI, SoftBank, and MGX to invest $500 billion over four years in AI infrastructure in the US. In September 2025, Oracle promoted Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia to co-CEOs, replacing Safra Catz. In January 2026, TikTok finalized a deal with Oracle, MGX, and Silver Lake each owning a 15% stake in the venture. In March 2026, Oracle signed a voluntary 'ratepayer protection pledge.' In April 2026, it was reported that Oracle laid off nearly 12,000 staff in India. In May 2026, Oracle reported 141,000 full-time workers, down from 162,000 a year earlier. For the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 (ending November 2025), Oracle reported total revenue of $14.1 billion, with cloud infrastructure revenue growing 68% year-over-year to $4.1 billion, and total remaining performance obligations surged to $130 billion.

Did You Know?

• Oracle's name came from a CIA project codename; the founders flipped a coin to decide between that and a project to develop a compiler for the PDP-4.
• By February 1983, the Rosen Electronics Letter called Oracle 'the most comprehensive offering we've seen' among databases.
• Oracle's acquisition of PeopleSoft was the second hostile takeover in the history of software.
• On July 15, 2013, Oracle transferred its stock listing from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, the largest-ever U.S. market transfer at the time.
• In May 2026, Oracle reported 141,000 full-time workers, down from 162,000 a year earlier—a reduction of approximately 21,000 employees.