Commodore began with Jack Tramiel and Manfred Kapp. They incorporated Commodore Portable Typewriter in Toronto on October 10, 1958, after years in adding machines and used typewriters. Financier Irving Gould became chairman in 1966. When Texas Instruments crushed the calculator market, Tramiel bought chip supplier MOS Technology in 1976 and reorganized the group as Bahamian Commodore International, with operations in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Chuck Peddle pushed the company into computers. The PET (1977) put a keyboard, monitor, and tape in one metal box. The VIC-20 (1981) was the first computer to pass one million units. The Commodore 64 (1982) followed with 64 KB of RAM, the VIC-II, and the SID. Price cuts and K-Mart shelves made it the machine a generation learned on. Lifetime C64 sales sit around 12.5 to 17 million, still among the best-selling single computer models.
Tramiel resigned in January 1984 after a fight with Gould, then bought the consumer half of Atari. Commodore purchased Amiga Corporation and launched the Amiga 1000 on July 23, 1985. Custom chips—Agnus, Denise, Paula—and AmigaOS gave games and video a 16-bit home computer that IBM clones took years to match. The Amiga 500 (1987) was the volume model. About 4.9 million Amigas shipped before the end.
Mismanagement and PC compatibles caught up. Commodore filed for bankruptcy on April 29, 1994. Escom, then Gateway, then Tulip passed pieces of the name and patents. Amiga trademarks now sit with Amiga Corp. (with Cloanto); Hyperion still ships AmigaOS 4. In 2025 investors formed a new U.S. Commodore International around the brand. The old company is gone. The SID tracks and Workbench screens are not.
Commodore Corporate Snapshot
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 in Toronto (typewriters); 1976 as Commodore International (Bahamas) |
| Founders | Jack Tramiel and Manfred Kapp; Irving Gould as chairman from 1966 |
| Headquarters | Operations in West Chester, Pennsylvania; legal home in the Bahamas |
| Signature machines | PET, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Amiga, CD32 |
| Best-known computer | Commodore 64 — about 12.5–17 million units |
| Fate | Chapter 11, April 29, 1994; assets later via Escom, Gateway, Tulip |
| Current status | Original firm liquidated; brand relaunched in 2025; Amiga IP separate |