Atlassian vs Toyota: Founders, CEOs and History
Atlassian was founded in 2002 by Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar and is led by Mike Cannon-Brookes. Toyota was founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda, Sakichi Toyoda and is led by Kenta Kon.
Company facts
Founders
Atlassian
Mike Cannon-Brookes
Atlassian was founded in 2002 in Sydney, Australia, by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. The founding of the company is a notable departure from the traditional Silicon Valley startup narrative.
Scott Farquhar
Scott Farquhar co-founded Atlassian in 2002 and served as co-CEO alongside Mike Cannon-Brookes until he stepped down on August 31, 2024, one of the longest co-CEO partnerships among listed technology companies.
Toyota
Kiichiro Toyoda
Kiichiro Toyoda (1894-1952) founded the Toyota Motor Corporation in 1937, spinning it out of his father's successful textile machinery business.
Sakichi Toyoda
Sakichi Toyoda was not the founder of Toyota Motor Corporation but his inventions and philosophy created the foundation on which it was built. His loom patents generated the capital Kiichiro needed to experiment with automobiles.
CEOs and their tenures
Atlassian
- Mike Cannon-Brookes2002–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Cannon-Brookes has led Atlassian since founding it in 2002, taking it from a $10,000 startup to $6.57 billion of fiscal 2026 revenue, and has been sole chief executive since Scott Farquhar stepped down on August 31, 2024.
Source - Scott Farquhar2002–2024
Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Farquhar served as co-CEO alongside Cannon-Brookes from 2002 until August 31, 2024, overseeing technical and engineering areas of the company as it grew from the original Jira issue tracker to a cloud platform serving more than 350,000 customers.
Source
Toyota
- Akio Toyoda2009–2023
President and Chief Executive Officer (now Chairman)
Akio Toyoda took leadership during one of Toyota's hardest modern periods, including the global financial crisis and the unintended acceleration recall crisis.
Source - Koji Sato2023–2026
President and Chief Executive Officer (now Vice Chairman)
Koji Sato inherited a profitable but scrutinized Toyota.
Source - Kenta Kon2026–present
President and Chief Executive Officer
As CFO, he managed the immense capital allocation required for Toyota's massive $35 billion commitment to fully electrify its vehicle lineup by 2030.
Source
Timeline: Atlassian and Toyota side by side
1937Toyota
Toyota Motor Corporation incorporated
Toyota Motor Corporation was incorporated after Kiichiro Toyoda expanded the Toyoda family business from automatic looms into automobile manufacturing.
1955Toyota
Toyopet Crown launched
The Toyopet Crown gave Toyota a postwar passenger-car platform and later became its first passenger car exported to the United States.
1966Toyota
Corolla launched
Toyota launched the Corolla, a compact car that became central to its mass-market export strategy.
1989Toyota
Lexus launches
Toyota launched Lexus with the LS 400, moving into premium vehicles with a quality-led strategy.
1997Toyota
Prius launches in Japan
Toyota launched the Prius, turning hybrid technology into a mass-produced passenger vehicle.
2002Atlassian
Company founded by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar in Sydney
Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar founded Atlassian with $10,000 in credit card debt while students at the University of New South Wales. They launched Jira, a bug-tracking and project management tool for software developers.
2004Atlassian
Launch of Confluence team collaboration platform
Atlassian launched Confluence, a team collaboration and documentation platform that complemented Jira and expanded the addressable market beyond software development into general team collaboration and knowledge management.
2005Atlassian
Reaches $1 million in annual revenue with no salespeople
Atlassian reached $1 million in annual revenue entirely through self-service online sales, validating the product-led growth model and demonstrating that enterprise software could be sold without a traditional sales force.
2010Atlassian
Raises $60 million from Accel Partners
Atlassian raised its first outside investment, $60 million from Accel Partners, after eight years of bootstrapped growth. The money went to product development and international expansion, not to building a sales force.
2012Atlassian
Acquisition of HipChat for real-time messaging
Atlassian acquired HipChat, an enterprise messaging platform, entering the real-time communication market and expanding the product suite beyond project management and documentation.
2015Atlassian
Initial public offering on NASDAQ
Atlassian completed its IPO on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, raising $462 million at a valuation of $4.37 billion. Shares were priced at $21 and rose 32% on the first day to close near $28.
2016Toyota
Acquired Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.
Toyota Motor acquired Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd..
2017Atlassian
Acquisition of Trello for $425 million
Atlassian acquired Trello, a visual task management platform built on Kanban boards, for $425 million in cash and stock. The deal extended its reach to non-technical teams and smaller organizations, complementing Jira.
2018Atlassian
Launch of Jira Service Management
Atlassian launched Jira Service Management, entering the IT service management market and extending Jira from software development into IT operations and service desk work.
2020Atlassian
Acquisition of Mindville for asset management
Atlassian acquired Mindville, an IT asset management company, to add asset and configuration management to Jira Service Management for enterprise customers.
2021Atlassian
Acquisition of Chartio for data visualization
Atlassian acquired Chartio, a cloud data visualization and analytics company, to improve reporting across the product suite. The standalone Chartio product was later discontinued.
2021Toyota
Acquired Lyft Level 5
Toyota Motor acquired Lyft Level 5 for $550 million.
2021Toyota
Acquired CARMERA
Toyota Motor acquired CARMERA.
2022Atlassian
Acquisition of Percept.AI for AI virtual agents
Atlassian acquired Percept.AI, an AI virtual agent company, to add automated ticket handling to Jira Service Management ahead of its broader AI push.
2023Atlassian
Acquisition of Loom for approximately $975 million
Atlassian acquired Loom, an asynchronous video messaging platform, for about $975 million, its largest acquisition by announced value, adding recorded video to Jira and Confluence workflows.
2024Atlassian
Launch of Rovo AI assistant
Atlassian launched Rovo, an AI assistant embedded across its products, providing search, summarization, automation, and agents that draw on the Teamwork Graph.
2024Atlassian
Server end-of-life forces cloud and data center migration
Atlassian ended support for its Server product line in February 2024, requiring remaining on-premises customers to move to either Cloud or Data Center subscriptions.
2025Atlassian
Launch of Atlassian Collections
Atlassian began selling Collections, bundles of apps and AI agents priced around an outcome rather than per product: the Teamwork Collection, Software Collection, Service Collection, and Strategy Collection.
2025Atlassian
Announces end of life for Data Center products
On September 8, 2025, Atlassian announced the end of life of its Data Center products under a migration program called Atlassian Ascend.
2025Atlassian
Acquisition of The Browser Company of New York
Atlassian completed the acquisition of The Browser Company of New York, maker of the Dia and Arc browsers, on October 20, 2025, for a total purchase price of $488.3 million, taking the company into enterprise browsers.
2025Atlassian
Acquisition of engineering intelligence vendor DX
Atlassian acquired A Software Company, which trades as DX, on November 10, 2025 for $720.4 million in cash. DX measures how engineering investment turns into delivered work and is being folded into Atlassian Collections.
2026Atlassian
Restructuring eliminates roles covering about 10% of the workforce
Atlassian initiated a second restructuring plan in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, eliminating roles covering approximately 10% of its workforce to fund investment in AI and enterprise sales.
2026Atlassian
Rovo reaches over 80% of the Fortune 500
Atlassian reported that Rovo was in use at over 80% of Fortune 500 companies and that its MCP server and Teamwork Graph CLI passed one million monthly active users in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, more than doubling in a quarter.
2026Toyota
Kenta Kon becomes president and CEO
Kenta Kon became president and CEO on April 1, 2026, while Koji Sato moved to vice chairman and chief industry officer.
2026Toyota
FY2026 sales revenues reach ~$340B (JPY 50.685T)
Toyota reported FY2026 sales revenues of ~$340 billion (JPY 50,684.952 billion) and net income attributable to Toyota Motor Corporation of ~$25.8 billion (JPY 3,848.098 billion).
Acquisitions
Atlassian
- The Browser Company of New York Inc.2025$488.3M
- A Software Company (DX)2025$720.4M
- Loom, Inc.2023$975M
- Percept.AI2022Undisclosed
- Chartio2021Undisclosed
- Mindville2020Undisclosed
Toyota
- Lyft Level 52021$550M
- CARMERA2021Undisclosed
- Renovo Motors2021Undisclosed
- Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.2016Undisclosed
- Toyota Auto Body2012Undisclosed
Questions about Atlassian vs Toyota
Who is the CEO of Atlassian Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation?
Atlassian Corporation is led by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Toyota Motor Corporation is led by Kenta Kon. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Atlassian Corporation founded vs Toyota Motor Corporation?
Toyota Motor Corporation was founded in 1937 — 65 years before Atlassian Corporation, which was founded in 2002. Toyota Motor Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Atlassian Corporation.
How many employees does Atlassian Corporation have compared to Toyota Motor Corporation?
Atlassian Corporation employs approximately 13,301 people, while Toyota Motor Corporation employs approximately 375,235. Toyota Motor Corporation has the larger workforce at 375,235 employees, compared to Atlassian Corporation's 13,301. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Atlassian Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation headquartered?
Atlassian Corporation is headquartered in United States and Toyota Motor Corporation is headquartered in Japan. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Atlassian Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation?
Atlassian Corporation was founded by Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar. Toyota Motor Corporation was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda, Sakichi Toyoda.
Which company has a longer operating history — Atlassian Corporation or Toyota Motor Corporation?
Toyota Motor Corporation has been operating for approximately 89 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Atlassian Corporation has been in operation for around 24 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Atlassian vs Toyota overview