FutureWave Software

FutureWave Software, Inc.^[1] was a software development company based in San Diego, California. The company was co-founded by Charlie Jackson and Jonathan Gay on January 22, 1993.^[1][2] The VP of Marketing was Linda Michelle Alsip, who also came from Silicon Beach Software, then Aldus Corporation.^[3][4][5][6]

FutureWave Software, Inc.

The FutureWave Software logo, used from 1993 until being acquired by Macromedia
Company type	Private
Founded	January 22, 1993; 32 years ago (1993-01-22)
Founder	Charlie Jackson Jonathan Gay
Defunct	December 1996 (1996-12)
Fate	Acquired by Macromedia
Successor	Adobe Systems Macromedia
Headquarters	San Diego, California, U.S.
Area served	United States

The company's first product was SmartSketch, a drawing program for the PenPoint OS and EO tablet computer. When pen computing did not take off, SmartSketch was ported to the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh platforms.^[7]

As the Internet became more popular, FutureWave realized the potential for a vector-based web animation tool that might challenge Macromedia Shockwave technology.^[3] In 1995, FutureWave modified SmartSketch by adding frame-by-frame animation features and re-released it as FutureSplash Animator on Macintosh and Windows.^[3][8] By that time, the company had added a second programmer Robert Tatsumi, artist Adam Grofcsik, and PR specialist Ralph Mittman.^[3]

In December 1996, FutureWave was acquired by Macromedia, who renamed the animation editor Macromedia Flash.^[8]