Fast Search & Transfer

Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) was a prominent Norwegian software company specializing in enterprise search and information retrieval technologies. Founded in 1997 as a spin-off from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the company developed the highly regarded FAST Enterprise Search Platform (ESP). While primarily a technology firm, FAST's solutions were extensively utilized in the life sciences and healthcare sectors to manage large-scale, complex data and facilitate research discovery. In 2008, Microsoft acquired FAST for approximately $1.2 billion to bolster its own enterprise search capabilities. Following the acquisition, FAST's core technologies were integrated into Microsoft products such as SharePoint and Bing.