SoftKey
SoftKey International (originally SoftKey Software Products, Inc.) was a software company founded by Kevin O'Leary in 1986 in Toronto, Ontario. It was known as The Learning Company from 1995 to 1999 after acquiring The Learning Company and taking its name.
| The Learning Company (1995–1999) | |
| Founded | 1986 (as SoftKey Software Products) |
| Founders | Kevin O'Leary |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Fate | Acquired by Mattel and folded into Mattel Interactive |
| Successors | Mattel Interactive (1999-2001) Riverdeep Interactive Learning Software MacKiev |
| Headquarters | United States (U.S) |
| Products | Educational software Shovelware games |
SoftKey played a major role in the dissolution of the edutainment industry by the turn of the millennium. Contributing factors include its reduction of the market price by releasing shovelware discs of freeware and shareware, hostile takeovers of major edutainment software companies, reduction of these acquisitions to a skeleton staff, and questionable financial practices to maintain its stock price.
In 1999, the company was acquired by Mattel in what Businessweek called one of "the Worst Deals of All Time". It was subsequently folded into Mattel Interactive, Riverdeep Interactive Learning, and Software MacKiev.