cofounded

Cofounded is the past tense of the verb co-found, meaning to establish or begin a company, organization, project, or initiative jointly with one or more other people. It is commonly used in business, nonprofit, academic, and tech contexts to indicate joint initiation by multiple founders.

In usage, cofounded describes the action of starting something together, while the people involved are typically referred to as cofounders. Phrases such as cofounded by X and Y or cofounded with X and Y are common in company histories, press releases, and legal filings. The corresponding noun is cofounder, and the plural cofounders, with the process often termed cofounding.

Etymology and spelling vary by style guide. The prefix co- denotes joint action, attached to founder to form cofounder or cofounding. The verb can appear as cofounded or co-founded, with hyphenated forms often preferred in formal writing. Some guides also use cofounded as a closed compound, while others advocate the hyphenated co-founded for readability.

Contexts and nuance. Cofounding implies that two or more individuals shared responsibility for establishing the entity in its early stages, though the degree of involvement can vary. The term is typically replaced by more specific descriptors in legal documents or formal histories, such as stating that a company was founded by a particular pair or by a team of founders. In casual writing, cofounded is widely understood and used interchangeably with co-founded.

See also: founder, cofounder, cofounding, startup, joint venture.