Zip2
Co-founder
Musk's first company — early internet city guides and business directories for newspapers, sold to Compaq for $307M.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip2$307M cash
Compaq acquisition (1999)
~$22M
Musk's payout
1995
Founded
Zip2, co-founded by Elon and Kimbal Musk with Greg Kouri in November 1995, provided online city-guide and searchable business-directory software — an internet "yellow pages" with maps — to newspapers including The New York Times and Hearst. In the early days Musk reportedly coded through the night and slept in the office.
Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash in February 1999 — then one of the largest sums paid for an internet company — and Musk received about $22 million for his stake, which he rolled into founding X.com.
Milestones
Founded in Palo Alto by Elon and Kimbal Musk and Greg Kouri.
Acquired by Compaq for $307 million in cash.