37signals created Ruby on Rails, first released publicly in 2004.
Ruby on Rails began as software extracted from Basecamp, a web-based project-management product developed by 37signals. David Heinemeier Hansson created the framework while working on Basecamp, using the Ruby programming language to support rapid web application development.
Rails was released as open-source software in July 2004. It became influential because of conventions such as convention over configuration and the model-view-controller architecture. These ideas reduced repetitive setup work for developers and helped popularize agile, database-backed web development.
37signals later changed its corporate name to Basecamp and subsequently returned to the 37signals name. That corporate history can cause confusion, but the company associated with Rails’s creation and original release was 37signals.