Bill Gates created a traffic data processing system for Seattle when he was only 15! Along with Paul Allen, he founded Traf-O-Data in the early 1970s to help cities analyze traffic patterns.
Bill Gates Built a Traffic Data System at Age 15
Before conquering the software world with Microsoft, a 15-year-old Bill Gates was already thinking like an entrepreneur. In the early 1970s, Gates and his high school friend Paul Allen spotted a business opportunity in the mundane world of traffic monitoring.
The Traffic Data Problem
Back then, cities tracked traffic using pneumatic road tubes — rubber hoses stretched across roads that recorded air pulses when vehicles passed over them. The data was punched onto paper tape as 16-bit patterns, creating rolls of cryptic holes that someone had to manually decode.
Cities paid private companies good money to translate these paper tapes into readable reports for traffic engineers. Gates and Allen figured they could do it faster and cheaper using computers.
Building Traf-O-Data
The duo founded Traf-O-Data with classmate Paul Gilbert. Their first approach was decidedly low-tech: they recruited Lakeside School classmates to manually transcribe the hole patterns onto computer cards, which Gates then processed using a University of Washington computer to generate traffic flow charts.
When Intel released the 8008 microprocessor in 1972, they saw the future. They built a custom computer using the 8008 chip that could automatically read the paper tapes and crunch the numbers. Allen even wrote an emulator program to test their software before the hardware was ready.
Mixed Results, Lasting Impact
The venture had its embarrassing moments. During a crucial demo for a King County official, the machine didn't work. Despite the hiccup, Traf-O-Data managed to earn around $20,000 before shutting down in 1975.
The business ultimately failed when Washington State began offering free traffic data processing to cities, eliminating the market for private contractors. But the experience was instrumental in preparing Gates and Allen for their next venture: a little company called Microsoft, founded the same year Traf-O-Data closed its doors.
Not bad for a project started by a high school sophomore.