VMware, Inc. is a US company that provides cloud and virtualization software and services, and claims to be the first to commercially successfully virtualize the x86 architecture. Founded in 1998, VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. In 2004 it was acquired by and became a subsidiary of EMC Corporation, then on August 14, 2007, EMC sold 15% of the company in a New York Stock Exchange IPO.