General Georges Doriot and his pioneering venture capital firm, American Research and Development, invested $70,000 for 70% of DEC’s stock to launch the company in 1957.
Doriot believed in Ken Olsen’s vision, once stating “Ken Olsen had a product that he could make the next day and that was important. But Ken also had a view of the future. He had a family of products in mind. Ken was taking a risk, but it was a thought-out risk, the kind of risk I favor. I was impressed Ken had the ability to sense the evolution of the market. He re-developed or re-invented products in some cases, always following the market. Ken had the desire to do something useful, constructive, and imaginative.”