Confinity
Encyclopedia
Confinity Inc. is best known as the creator of PayPal
. It was founded in December 1998 by Max Levchin
,
Peter Thiel
, and Luke Nosek
, initially as a Palm Pilot payments and cryptography
company. Many of Confinity's initial recruits were alumni of The Stanford Review
, also co-founded by Peter Thiel, and most early engineers hailed from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
, recruited by Max Levchin. Early investors included Nokia Ventures, Deutsche Bank
, and Bell Melton, the founder of CyberCash.
Confinity's second office, 165 University Avenue
in Palo Alto, California
, is also known for being the former office of Google
and Logitech
.
Confinity launched its milestone product, PayPal
in late 1999. Confinity merged with X.com, founded by Elon Musk
, in March 2000. The merged company became known as X.com because this was thought to be a name with broader long-term potential than Confinity or PayPal. However, surveys eventually showed that a majority of consumers considered the name X.com vague and potentially pornographic and preferred that the company simply be called PayPal. After a corporate restructuring, the company adopted the name PayPal Inc.
After an IPO, the company was purchased by eBay
.
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
. It was founded in December 1998 by Max Levchin
Max Levchin
Max Rafael Levchin is a Ukrainian-born American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur widely known as one of the co-founders and for his role as the former chief technology officer of PayPal....
,
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel
Peter Andreas Thiel is an American business magnate, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO...
, and Luke Nosek
Luke Nosek
Luke Nosek is an American entrepreneur of Polish descent.Nosek received a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During college in the summer of 1995, he cofounded SponsorNet New Media, Inc., along with fellow UIUC students Max Levchin and Scott Banister...
, initially as a Palm Pilot payments and cryptography
company. Many of Confinity's initial recruits were alumni of The Stanford Review
The Stanford Review
The Stanford Review is a libertarian student-run newspaper that serves Stanford University in Stanford, California. It was founded in 1987 by Peter Thiel and Norman Book. It is published and distributed without charge to the Stanford community periodically during the academic year.-Notable former...
, also co-founded by Peter Thiel, and most early engineers hailed from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, recruited by Max Levchin. Early investors included Nokia Ventures, Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
, and Bell Melton, the founder of CyberCash.
Confinity's second office, 165 University Avenue
165 University Avenue
165 University Avenue is a small rented office building on University Avenue, the main commercial street in downtown Palo Alto, California. Located near Stanford University, the building has served as an incubator for several noted Silicon Valley companies, including Logitech, Google, PayPal,...
in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, is also known for being the former office of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
and Logitech
Logitech
Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
.
Confinity launched its milestone product, PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
in late 1999. Confinity merged with X.com, founded by Elon Musk
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is an American engineer and entrepreneur heritage best known for co-founding PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors. He is currently the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity...
, in March 2000. The merged company became known as X.com because this was thought to be a name with broader long-term potential than Confinity or PayPal. However, surveys eventually showed that a majority of consumers considered the name X.com vague and potentially pornographic and preferred that the company simply be called PayPal. After a corporate restructuring, the company adopted the name PayPal Inc.
After an IPO, the company was purchased by eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
.