How we got here

How we got here

In the four decades since our founding, Dell Technologies has evolved significantly to become the organization we are today. What started off as a computer company founded in a University of Texas dorm room has become a key leader in the global technology industry through ambitious innovation, a vision for a better world and the largest technology merger in history. See key milestones below.

Dell Technologies through the years

1979

Richard Egan and Roger Marino - former university roommates - quit their jobs and founded EMC in Newton, Massachusetts, five years before Michael Dell's vision was materialised.

1984

As a young student at the University of Texas, Michael Dell founds PC's Limited with $1,000 and a game-changing vision for how technology should be designed, manufactured and sold. He leaves his dorm room at the end of his first year to devote all his time to growing the business.

1987

After the company's launch and the building of their first computer system, Dell opens its first international subsidiary in the United Kingdom.

1988

Growing at roughly 80 percent annually, Dell takes the plunge and goes public. The company, now officially renamed Dell Computer Corporation, uses the newly acquired capital to expand its product offerings and global presence, opening a manufacturing center in Ireland just two years later to better serve customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

1995

Dell expands worldwide operations in Europe, Asia, Japan and the Americas, driving big ideas across the globe.

1996

The company takes sales online in 1996, setting the bar for ecommerce worldwide. Dell rapidly expands its global operations by opening the first Asia-Pacific Customer Center in Penang, Malaysia.

1997

EMC's great global presence is materialized as they are named worldwide open storage market leader.

1998

Dell opens a new integrated sales, manufacturing and support center in Xiamen, China and announce manufacturing sites in Ireland, Brazil and the United States.

1999

Eldorado do Sul, Brazil gains a new manufacturing operations center to better serve our customers in Latin America.

2001

It's a year of firsts as Dell becomes the No. 1 computer systems provider worldwide and reaches No. 1 in U.S. Intel-based server shipments. Dell inks an agreement with storage leader EMC to enable more affordable enterprise-class storage area network solutions for customers of all sizes.

2004

In just five years, Dell is China's third largest provider of computer systems and services, with shipment growth near 60% — or four times that of the industry.

2006

EMC opens a new software development centre in Shanghai—the company's first China-based research and development facility.

2013

Dell goes private. In the largest leveraged buyout in tech history, Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners buy Dell from the public market for $24.9 billion to focus on innovation and long-term investments.

2015

Customer satisfaction rates reach record highs as customers feel the effects of Dell's singular focus as a private company.

2016

The Dell journey and the EMC journey join to reach customers and their great ideas globally and to drive human progress. The newly combined Dell Technologies marks the completion of the biggest tech deal in history.

2023

Dell brings together the world's broadest GenAI infrastructure portfolio with the world's most comprehensive multicloud portfolio to help lead the AI revolution.

We’ve achieved a great deal since 1984. Along the way, we learned we’ll stop at nothing to create the technology that powers the world we envision. When we pair that grit with our unique team, no feat is insurmountable. At Dell Technologies, we set ambitious goals that reflect who we are and what we stand for, even when we don’t yet know the path forward. While the world continues changing, we won’t stop innovating to achieve our goals and empower our customers to achieve theirs.