INTUIT INC.

The company was founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx in Palo Alto, California.

Scott Cook developed the concept for Intuit after his work at Procter & Gamble helped him realize that personal computers would lend themselves towards replacements for paper-and-pencil based personal accounting. While seeking a programmer, Cook met Tom Proulx at Stanford University. The two started Intuit, which initially operated out of a small room on University Avenue in Palo Alto. The first version of Quicken was coded in Microsoft's BASIC programming language for the IBM PC and UCSD Pascal for the Apple II by Tom Proulx and had to contend with a dozen serious competitors.

In 1991, Microsoft decided to produce a competitor to Quicken called Microsoft Money. To incentivize retailers, Intuit included a US$15 rebate coupon. Industry observers at the time noted this as a novel strategy for a software company. Around the same time, the company engaged John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins and diversified its product lineup.

On March 12, 1993, Intuit went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol INTU. The proceeds were used to make a key acquisition: the tax-preparation software company Chipsoft based in San Diego. Following the IPO, the company expanded its market share, leading to a 1994 buyout offer from Microsoft in 1994; at this time Intuit's market capitalization reached US$2 billion. However, the United States Department of Justice sued to block the acquisition.

As Microsoft competition intensified Intuit's Quicken business in the late 1990s, the company pivoted its strategy by developing web-based products while prioritizing QuickBooks for small business accounting and TurboTax for tax preparation—market segments where Microsoft faced less competition. The company made a number of investments around this time. Among others, it purchased a large stake in Excite and acquired Lacerte Software, a Dallas -based developer of tax preparation software used by tax professionals. It also divested its online bill payment service unit in exchange for an equity stake in CheckFree.

In June 2013, Intuit announced it would sell its financial services unit to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $1.03 billion.

As of May 2018, Intuit had more than US$5 billion in annual revenue and a market capitalization of about US$50 billion. In August 2018, the company announced that Sasan Goodarzi would become Intuit's leader and CEO at the beginning of 2019. Former CEO Brad Smith remained as chairman of Intuit's board of directors. In August 2020, Intuit QuickBooks Canada was expected to reveal intentions to partner with Digital Main Street, as the company aims to help digitally turn Canadian small businesses.

In July 2024, Intuit announced it would lay off 1,800 employees, or 10% of its workforce, in order to refocus resources on generative AI initiatives. In May 2026, Intuit laid off a further 3000 employees, or 17% of its workforce, once again citing a need to streamline operations and focus on generative AI.