Valve

Valve Corporation is a private, founder-owned video game developer and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington. Founded in 1996 by former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, Valve built its early reputation on narrative-driven first-person shooters including Half-Life, Team Fortress, and Portal, then expanded into live-service multiplayer titles such as Counter-Strike and Dota 2. In 2003 the company launched Steam, now the dominant PC gaming digital distribution and social platform, handling game sales, matchmaking, cloud saves, and a secondary marketplace for in-game items across tens of thousands of third-party titles. Valve has also produced hardware, including the Steam Deck handheld PC and Index VR headset. The company has never taken outside venture capital or private equity investment; its founders self-funded the business using proceeds from Microsoft stock options, and it remains privately held today.