2 NeXT, Inc.
If you’re familiar with Apple’s rich history, you’ll likely know that the company’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, was removed from the helm of the empire he helped create in the late 1980s. Jobs then worked on a number of other projects including development of the 1995 Toy Story film from Disney and Pixar, and the founding of NeXT, Inc. In 1997, Jobs returned to Apple as part of the company’s acquisition of NeXT for $429 million in cash and shares of Apple stock. In what was perhaps the most divine, technological matrimony of all-time, Apple’s hardware was joined together with NeXT’s cutting-edge software to create the foundation of OS X and iOS as we know them today.