GoPro, a technology company headquartered in San Mateo, California (near San Francisco), was founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman to develop and produce high-definition video equipment sports cameras for extreme sports, as well as develop mobile applications (Moblie App) and video editing software.
History
American Nick Woodman went surfing in Australia in 2002. He found that there was a general shortage of high-quality but affordable equipment for him to take photographs while surfing. After returning to China, he began to raise funds, and at first he was quite poor, trying to be a mobile peddler, selling beads and shell belts for $20 aboard his foss van, and later receiving $200,000 from his parents to start a business. In 2004, after two years of research, he finally sold his first camera.
In 2004, the company sold its first camera system using 35 mm film. Later, digital cameras and camcorders were introduced. As of 2014, fixed-lens HD cameras with 170-degree wide lenses are available; two or more can be paired to create 360-degree video.
In 2014, he hired former Microsoft executive Tony Bates as CEO to assist with the company's corporateization. On June 4, 2014, the company announced the appointment of former Microsoft Governor Tony Bates as president to report directly to Woodman. In January 2016, GoPro partnered with Periscope for a live broadcast.
After increasing its headcount by more than 500 in 2015, the company's sales were weak in the fourth quarter, cutting about 7 percent of its employees (100) in January 2016. At its peak in 2014, GoPro reached $86 per share, but by November 2016, the stock had fallen to $12.
On February 29, 2016, GoPro acquired two startups— Stupeflix and Vemory— for $105 million for their video editing tools, Replay and Splice.
In November 2016, the company announced that it was laying off about 200 employees (15% of the total number of employees) to reduce costs, and that current president Tony Bates would also leave at the end of the year. In January 2018, the company laid off another company of about 200 to 300 employees. In March 2020, GoPro acquired stable software company ReelSteady.