Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 1, 2026

Software Arts

Software Arts was a software company founded by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston in 1979 to develop VisiCalc, which was published by a separate company, Personal Software Inc., later named VisiCorp.

Last revised
Jun 1, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
183 w
Citations
5
Source
Software Arts
Company type
Private
IndustrySoftware
Founded1979
HeadquartersCambridge, Massachusetts, Newton, Massachusetts
Key people
Co-founders Dan Bricklin, Bob Frankston
ProductsVisiCalc, TK/Solver, Spotlight

Software Arts was a software company founded by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston in 19791 to develop VisiCalc, which was published by a separate company, Personal Software Inc., later named VisiCorp.

Software Arts also developed TK!Solver,2 a numeric equation solving system developed originally by Milos Konopasek, and Spotlight, "a desktop organizer program for the IBM Personal Computer."2

By early 1984 InfoWorld estimated that Software Arts was the world's 13th-largest microcomputer-software company, with $12 million in 1983 sales.3 It was bought by the company Lotus in 1985.4

References

References

  1. Kenneth N. Gilpin; Todd S. Purdum (April 10, 1985). "Former Friendly Rivals Joining Forces at Lotus". The New York Times.
  2. David E. Sanger (April 9, 1985). "Lotus Set to Acquire Software Arts". The New York Times.
  3. Caruso, Denise (1984-04-02). "Company Strategies Boomerang". InfoWorld. Vol. 6, no. 14. pp. 80–83. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  4. Sanger, David E. (1985-04-09). "Lotus Set to Acquire Software Arts (Published 1985)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
External links