Foundation of Netscape: April 1994, by Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen Highs and lows since: Dec 1994: Navigator browser shipped Aug 1995: Buying frenzy envelopes offering of five million shares Dec 1995: Netscape shares at all-time high of $87.
Bill Gates makes the Internet Microsoft's "top priority" Feb 1996: Navigator 2 ships Jun 1996: Navigator passes 38 million users Dec 1997: Shares dip under $20 Jan 1998: As Microsoft's free Internet Explorer bites, Netscape starts giv- ing away Navigator and its source code Mar 1998: Netscape tells Congress hearings of Microsoft dominance Nov 1998: AOL values Netscape shares at $41 in buying it out for $4.2 billion in stock, ending its independent existence