Over the last four years, Mandriva has established itself as one of the world leaders in Open Source and Linux software.
1998 - 1999 : foundation and growth
July 1998
Gael Duval releases his first version of Mandriva Linux (version 5.1) on the Internet. Success is immediate. Along with thousands of downloads, CDs are rapidly produced and sold throughout France, Australia and the US. A great number of users and developers adopt Mandriva Linux which becomes a recognised distribution with a very strong image as far as ease of installation and of use are concerned.
November 1998
Foundation of Mandriva by Gaël Duval, Frédéric Bastok and Jacques Le Marois. The aim of the company is to pursue the development of the Mandriva Linux operating system and develop a business activity around it through packaged versions and associated service.
December 1998
Mandriva places for free download the 5.2 version of its operating system on the Internet. Success is such that extra downloading sites need to be found immediately. This is the first time that a Linux company offers a version in such a format and favours distribution through download thereby enabling large scale scattering around the world.
February 1999
Launch of the Mandriva Linux first packaged version (version 5.3) - with handbook - in February 1999 for the French version and in March 1999 for the English version.
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2000 : substantial increase in the user base
January 2000
Launch of the 7.0 version of the Mandriva Linux distribution.
July 2000
Launch of the first training offering and packaged technical support, associated with a series of agreements with value added resellers (VAR) and partner training centers.
July 2000
Mandriva opens its subsidiary in Canada, Mandrivasoft Inc., in Montréal.
September 2000
Mandriva Linux wins the American Linux Magazine prize for best client side distribution.
November 2000
Mandriva opens offices in London in order to accompany the development of the business activity in the UK.
December 2000
With almost two thirds of its sales in the US, Mandriva holds - together with its competitor Red Hat - the number one position in the US.
Source: PC Data research on the American market, measuring the relative marketshares of all the main free software editors in 2000.
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