WhereIsAtlas · Computers

Compaq

The PC upstart that beat IBM, then got absorbed by HP

Defunct — The PC-clone upstart that briefly beat IBM, bought DEC, and was then absorbed by HP in 2002.

Compaq was the company that proved IBM's PC could be beaten at its own game. Founded in 1982 by three ex-Texas Instruments executives, it shipped an IBM-PC-compatible portable in 1983 and rode the cloning wave to become the world's largest PC maker by 1994, passing IBM itself.

Its rise was a classic disruption story: build a compatible machine, sell it cheaper, and let the network of PC clones erode the original's control. Compaq also expanded by acquisition, swallowing minicomputer pioneer Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1998.

But the PC market commoditized hard, and Compaq's margins vanished. In 2002 it was acquired by HP for about $25 billion - the largest tech merger at the time. The Compaq brand was retired in 2013, a once-fearsome challenger reduced to a footnote.

Timeline

  1. 1982 — Founded: Three ex-Texas Instruments managers start Compaq in Houston.
  2. 1983 — The compatible portable: Compaq ships a portable that runs IBM PC software, kickstarting the clone boom.
  3. 1994 — Biggest PC maker: Compaq passes IBM to become the world's top PC vendor.
  4. 1998 — DEC acquisition: Compaq buys minicomputer maker Digital Equipment Corporation.
  5. 2002 — Swallowed by HP: HP acquires Compaq for about $25 billion; the brand later disappears.

Quick facts

Founded
1982, by ex-TI executives
First hit
IBM-PC-compatible portable, 1983
Peak
World's largest PC maker, 1994
Bought DEC
1998
Absorbed by
HP, 2002 (≈ $25B)

Lineage — where the name went

Compaq was built by three Texas Instruments engineers who bet that a portable IBM-compatible PC would sell. Twenty years later it was the biggest PC maker in the world — and then it was gone, folded into the rival it had spent years outselling.

  1. 1982 — Rod Canion, Jim Harris & Bill Murto founded Compaq
  2. 1983 — Compaq created Compaq Portable
  3. 1986 — Compaq created Deskpro 386
  4. 1998 — Compaq acquired Digital Equipment Corporation (a $9.6bn deal that many argue Compaq never digested)
  5. 2002 — Compaq merged into Hewlett-Packard (HP bought Compaq for about $25bn; the brand was retired)

Entities in this tree: Rod Canion, Jim Harris & Bill Murto (person, 1982); Compaq (company, 1982); Compaq Portable (product, 1983); Deskpro 386 (product, 1986); Digital Equipment Corporation (company, 1957); Hewlett-Packard (company, 1939)

Sources

  1. Compaq - Wikipedia — Wikipedia (2026-02-09)
  2. HP and Compaq merge — BBC News (2026-02-09)

Related: hp · intel · kodak · digital equipment corporation · ibm · acer