Oracle, one of the world's largest companies by market capitalization, was originally called what when it was founded in 1977?

Oracle was founded in 1977 as Software Development Laboratories.

Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates established Software Development Laboratories in Santa Clara, California, on June 16, 1977. The company developed database software for customers and was influenced by research on relational database systems, including work associated with IBM’s Edgar F. Codd.

In 1979, the company released Oracle Version 2, described as the first commercially available SQL-based relational database management system. The product’s name helped establish the Oracle brand before the corporation adopted the name Relational Software, Inc. in 1979.

The company became Oracle Systems Corporation in 1982 and later shortened its name to Oracle Corporation. Oracle’s corporate history is therefore different from the history of its database product: Software Development Laboratories was the original legal company name, while Oracle became the enduring brand.