Vivaldi was officially launched in stable version 1.0 by Vivaldi Technologies on April 6, 2016.
The browser was created for users who wanted extensive customization and advanced controls. Its founders included Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, the former Opera Software chief executive, and Tatsuki Tomita. That background helps explain why Vivaldi was designed to appeal to former Opera users who missed features removed during Opera’s transition from its Presto engine to a Chromium-based platform.
Vivaldi’s first technical preview appeared on January 27, 2015, so that date is sometimes confused with the browser’s launch. The 2015 release was an early preview, while April 6, 2016 marks the first stable public release, version 1.0. It initially supported Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Vivaldi is Chromium-based, but its interface layer is proprietary and emphasizes features such as tab management, customization, and built-in productivity tools. The name comes from the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi.