Vivaldi () is a
freeware
Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...
,
cross-platform
Within computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several Computing platform, computing platforms. Some ...
web browser
A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...
with a built-in
email client
An email client, email reader or, more formally, message user agent (MUA) or mail user agent is a computer program used to access and manage a user's email.
A web application which provides message management, composition, and reception functio ...
developed by
Vivaldi Technologies, a company founded by Tatsuki Tomita and
Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner
Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner (Icelandic: Jón; born 29 August 1967 in Seltjarnarnes) is an Icelandic- Norwegian programmer and businessman. He is the co-founder and CEO of Vivaldi Technologies. Before starting the Vivaldi Web browser, he launc ...
, who was the co-founder and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
Opera Software
Opera (formerly Opera Software AS) is a Norwegian multinational technology corporation headquartered in Oslo, Norway with additional offices in European Union, Europe, China, and Africa. Opera offers a range of products and services that inclu ...
. Vivaldi was initially released on 27 January 2015.
Although intended for general users, it is first and foremost targeted towards technically inclined users as well as former
Opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
users disgruntled by its transition from the
Presto
Presto may refer to:
Computing
* Presto (browser engine), an engine previously used in the Opera web browser
* Presto (operating system), a Linux-based OS by Xandros
* Presto (SQL query engine), a distributed query engine
* Presto (animation so ...
layout engine Layout engine may refer to:
* Browser engine, a software component of a web browser that does the layout of web pages
* Digital typesetting software, used both during document creation and consumption
* Layout manager, a software component in a GU ...
to a
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium ...
-based browser that resulted in the loss of many of its distinctive features.
Despite the fact that it is also Chromium-based, Vivaldi aims to revive the features of the Presto-based Opera with its own