Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) 1948
BBN was a small acoustical consulting firm formed in 1948 by two professors from MIT, Richard Bolt and Leo Beranek. Beranek was an electrical engineer and Bolt was an architect and physicist - both were acousticians. A year later they hired Robert Newman, a former student of Bolt’s, and BBN was born.

Their involvement in computers, however, did not begin until Beranek recruited Joseph Licklider in 1957, who was not only an expert in psychoacoustics, but also had an interest in human-computer interaction. In 1958 the company bought their first computer, an LGP-30, manufactured by Royal-McBee for $25 000. The next 12 years saw their expertise in computing systems grow, until in 1968 ARPA requested a proposal for the IMP, and gave the company 30 days to respond. They won the tender, and in 1969 implemented the first four-site ARPANET.