The spring of 2026 is the 50th anniversary of Apple and of National Instruments.
Apple was founded on April 1, 1976 and National Instruments in the spring of 1976. Apparently it was started with the “ooch” approach which may explain why there isn’t an exact date.
The 50th anniversary (see this video on Facebook) will be celebrated at NI Connect in Fort Worth Texas and at an alumni get together the week after.
This interview with Dr. T from 2012 also gives a great overview of NI’s philosophy and strategy. A lot of history is also chronicled on nihistory.com.
Apple’s 50th anniversary is still under wraps but the following is quoted on MacRumors.
The intersection of the Mac and the curiosity of Jeff Kodosky inspired the development to LabVIEW, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
The innovation of these two companies have had an outsized influence on the markets they serve.
NI revolutionized the test and measurement industry by being the leader in “virtual instrumentation” riding on the shirttails of the computer industry to bring innovation and efficiency to instrumentation.
Apple dramatically downsized computer technology to pocket size and seeded a platform that revolutionized the world through a platform for profound social, cultural, and communication innovations.
Both companies went through significant challenges. Apple had a near death experience as it flirted with bankruptcy in 1997, while NI had a longer period of stagnation and restructuring for about ten years culminating in its acquisition by Emerson in 2023.
I invite you to contribute your thoughts and anecdotes on these milestones at the following site created by John Graff:
as well as in the comment sections below as well as on the NI Living History Facebook page.
(I will moderate comments on this web page as quickly as possible, since we experience a lot of spam)