# Pure Software

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American software tools company founded by Reed Hastings

Pure Software Industry Software development tools Founded October 1991 Founder Reed Hastings, Raymond Peck and Mark Box Fate Merged with Atria Software to form Pure Atria Corporation; subsequently acquired by Rational Software Successor Pure Atria Corporation Headquarters Sunnyvale, California , United States Products Purify, Quantify, PureLink

**Pure Software** was an American [software development](/source/Software_development) tools company founded in October 1991 by [Reed Hastings](/source/Reed_Hastings), Raymond Peck and Mark Box. Its flagship product was [Purify](/source/Purify_(software)), a [debugging](/source/Debugging) and [memory leak](/source/Memory_leak) detection tool for [Unix](/source/Unix) software applications written in [C](/source/C_(programming_language)). The company is notable as the first significant venture of [Reed Hastings](/source/Reed_Hastings), who later co-founded [Netflix](/source/Netflix).

## History

Pure Software was founded in October 1991. Its original product, Purify, helped software developers detect [memory errors](/source/Memory_leak) and bugs in C programs by instrumenting compiled code to track memory usage at runtime. The company subsequently added complementary tools including Quantify, a [performance profiler](/source/Code_profiling), and PureLink, a linker-based tool. Revenue doubled every year for four years,[1] and the company went public on [NASDAQ](/source/NASDAQ) in August 1995, led by [Morgan Stanley](/source/Morgan_Stanley).[2]

In August 1996, Pure Software merged with [Atria Software](/source/Atria_Software) to form Pure Atria Corporation.[3] In August 1997, [Rational Software](/source/Rational_Software) acquired Pure Atria, a deal that gave Hastings the capital to start his next venture.[4][5] The acquisition triggered a 42% drop in the stock prices of both companies.[6] Hastings was appointed [Chief Technical Officer](/source/Chief_technical_officer) of the combined company,[6] but departed shortly after. He subsequently co-founded [Netflix](/source/Netflix) in 1997, later reflecting that management challenges at Pure Software had shaped his thinking about company culture.[7]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["SEC Info - Pure Atria Corp - 10-K405 - For 12/31/96 - EX-13"](http://www.secinfo.com/dut49.8J9.b.htm). Fran Finnegan & Company. March 28, 1997. Retrieved 2008-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Pure Software Inc. Announces Initial Public Offering Of Common Stock"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110214005542/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1995_August_2/ai_17119769/). Business Wire. August 2, 1995. Archived from [the original](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1995_August_2/ai_17119769/) on 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2008-01-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Atria Software and Pure Software Become Pure Atria With Shareholder Approval of Merger"](http://www.faxmarketing.co.uk/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/26399&EDATE=). PR Newswire Association LLC. August 26, 1996. Retrieved 2007-12-01.[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Rational merger rattles Wall St"](https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/rational-merger-rattles-wall-st/). *Cnet.com*. April 7, 1997.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Hot Growth Special Report 2006: 29 Netflix (NFLX)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060526220629/http://www.businessweek.com/hot_growth/2006/company/29.htm). Business Week. Archived from [the original](http://www.businessweek.com/hot_growth/2006/company/29.htm) on May 26, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-01.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-PCOLInvestorspan_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-PCOLInvestorspan_6-1) Wall Street Journal. "Investors Pan Rational's Plan To Buy Pure Atria for Stock" by Don Clark. April 8, 1997.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-PCOLBusinessweek_7-0)** [Business Week. "Netflix: Flex To The Max" by Michelle Conlin. September 24, 2007.](https://web.archive.org/web/20120809073023/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-09-23/netflix-flex-to-the-max)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pure Software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_Software) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_Software?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.