Netflix, a major market-cap entertainment company, mailed its first DVD to customers in 1998.
Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. The company tested its DVD-by-mail service before publicly launching it in 1998, using the U.S. Postal Service to send rental discs to customers. This model removed the need for a physical video-rental store visit.
Netflix later introduced a subscription plan that allowed customers to keep DVDs for longer periods and exchange them through the mail. In 2007, it began streaming video, gradually transforming from a DVD-rental business into a global entertainment platform.
The company’s founding year, 1997, is often confused with the first DVD shipment year. The specific milestone asked here is the first customer DVD mailing in 1998.