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Software · Apps & Web

Where is PHP from?

PHP comes from Canada. It was founded in Toronto, Canada in 1994.[2],[3],[4] It is owned by The PHP Foundation, based in the United States, whose ownership is shared — see the notes below.[5],[6]

Origin

Canada

Founded 1994 in Toronto

Owner today Shared ownership

United States

The PHP Foundation · since 2021

Key facts

Country of origin
Canada[2],[3],[4]
Founded
1994, Toronto[2],[3],[4]
Founder
Rasmus Lerdorf
Current owner
The PHP Foundation[5],[6]
Owner headquarters
United States
Ownership
Shared ownership, since 2021
Type
Software — programming language for the web
Category
Apps & Web

Good to know

  • Rasmus Lerdorf wrote the first PHP Tools while working as a web developer in Toronto. The PHP 3 rewrite that became the basis of modern PHP was started in 1997 by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski in Tel Aviv, Israel.
  • Lerdorf released the source code publicly on 8 June 1995.
  • PHP is open source and developed by its community. The PHP Foundation, set up in November 2021 by JetBrains, Automattic, Laravel, Zend and other companies, funds its core developers and is run by consensus. It is not a legal entity: its money is held by Open Source Collective, a US 501(c)(6) nonprofit. The PHP name and code copyright belong to The PHP Group.
  • The PHP Foundation is not a legal entity and has no head office. It is listed under the United States because its funds are held by Open Source Collective, a US 501(c)(6) nonprofit; its members and developers are spread across many countries.
Origin is not where products are made. PHP’s origin is where the brand was created. Its products may be designed, manufactured or assembled in other countries. How we define origin.

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Sources

  1. [1]PHP — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
  2. [2]History of PHP — The PHP Group, "Created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf"; source released June 1995; PHP 3 rewrite by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski of Tel Aviv, Israel, from 1997 (checked 2026-10-21)
  3. [3]PHP Announcement June 8, 1995 — The PHP Group, "Announce: Personal Home Page Tools (PHP Tools)", comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi, 8 June 1995; signed rasmus@io.org (checked 2026-10-21)
  4. [4]1995: PHP Launches As Server-Side CGI Scripts Toolset — Cybercultural, Lerdorf was an IT consultant and web programmer in Toronto, Canada, in 1994–95 (checked 2026-10-21)
  5. [5]The PHP Foundation — The PHP Foundation, "not a corporation or a legal entity"; contributions made through Open Source Collective, a 501(c)(6); decisions by consensus of the administration (checked 2026-10-21)
  6. [6]The PHP Foundation — JetBrains, November 2021 announcement; founding members Automattic, Laravel, Acquia, Zend, Private Packagist, Symfony, Craft CMS, Tideways, PrestaShop and JetBrains (checked 2026-10-21)
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