V1Y1 tracks the Versions 1 and Years 1 of Tech Startups
PayPal History: Year 1
Who are the founders of PayPal?
PayPal was founded by Max Levchin and Peter Thiel.
When was PayPal incorporated?
PayPal was incorporated as FieldLink Inc. in December 1998, amended company name to Confinity Inc. in June 1999, and amended company name to PayPal in March 2001.
When did the first design and development efforts start at PayPal?
PayPal started its first design and development efforts in January 1999.
When did PayPal purchase its domain name?
PayPal purchased the paypal.com domain name in July 1999.
When did PayPal launch commercially?
PayPal launched commercially in September 1999.
When did PayPal go through its first merger?
PayPal merged with X.com (founded by Elon Musk) in March 2000.
How much venture capital did PayPal raise?
PayPal raised about $216 M USD in four rounds of funding.
When did PayPal go public?
PayPal started trading on the NYSE in February 2002.
Where was PayPal headquartered?
PayPal was/is headquartered in San Jose, USA.
Click on the thumbnails below to see more details.
What happened during the year 1 of PayPal?

JAN to DEC 1999
What was the version 1 of PayPal's first product like?
What are some of the pre-IPO stats for PayPal?
What were some of the extra materials about PayPal?

Articles of Incorporation

Form S-1
How PayPal co-founders met
Getting the product out
Changing the business model
Exponential growth
PayPal at Ten