Zephyr was derivedoriginated from Virtuoso RTOS for [[Digital signal processor|DSPs]].<ref name="zp19">{{cite web |url=https://www.zephyrproject.org/zephyr-an-operating-system-for-iot/ |title=Zephyr – An Operating System for IoT |first=Ivo |last=Clarysse |date=November 22, 2019 |work=Zephyr Project }}</ref><ref name="eej"/> In 2001, [[Wind River Systems]] acquired Belgian software company Eonic Systems, the developer of Virtuoso. In November 2015, Wind River Systems renamed the operating system to ''Rocket'', made it open-source and royalty-free.<ref name="eej">{{Cite web|url=http://www.eejournal.com/archives/articles/20151125-windriver/|title=Wind River Sets Rocket RTOS On Free Trajectory|website=EEJournal|date=25 November 2015|language=en-US|access-date=2018-02-23}}</ref> Compared to Wind River's other RTOS, [[VxWorks]], Rocket had a much smaller memory footprint, particularly suitable for sensors and single-function embedded devices. Rocket could fit into as little as 4 KB of memory, while VxWorks required 200 KB or more.<ref name="eej"/>
In February 2016, Rocket became a hosted collaborative project of the [[Linux Foundation]] launchedunder Zephyrthe projectname ''Zephyr''.<ref name="zp19"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/federicoguerrini/2016/02/19/the-internet-of-things-goes-open-source-with-linux-foundations-zephyr-project/|title=The Internet of Things Goes Open Source with Linux Foundation's Zephyr Project|last=Guerrini|first=Federico|date=2016-02-19|magazine=[[Forbes]]|access-date=2017-01-12}}</ref><ref name="zephyr-project">{{Cite web |url=https://www.zephyrproject.org/news/linux-foundation-announces-project-build-real-time-operating-system-internet-things-devices |title=The Linux Foundation Announces Project to Build Real-Time Operating System for Internet of Things Devices |author=<!-- Human name. --> |date=17 February 2016 |website=Zephyr Project |publisher=Linux Foundation |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310073146/https://www.zephyrproject.org/news/linux-foundation-announces-project-build-real-time-operating-system-internet-things-devices |archivedate=2016-03-10}}</ref> Wind River Systems contributed the Rocket kernel to Zephyr, but still provided Rocket to its clients charging them for the cloud services.<ref name="patel-zephyr-project"/><ref name="eej"/> As a result, Rocket became "essentially the commercial version of Zephyr".<ref name="patel-zephyr-project">{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.windriver.com/wind_river_blog/2016/02/wind-river-welcomes-linux-foundations-zephyr-project.html |title=Wind River Welcomes Linux Foundation's Zephyr Project |last=Patel |first=Niheer |date=17 February 2016 |website=Wind River Systems}}</ref>
Since then, early members and supporters of Zephyr include [[Intel]], [[NXP Semiconductors]], [[Synopsys]], [[Linaro]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-linux-foundations-zephyr-project-building-an-operating-system-for-iot-devices/|title=The Linux Foundation's Zephyr Project: A custom operating system for IoT devices|last=Osborne|first=Charlie|date=2016-02-19|website=[[ZDNet]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=2017-01-12}}</ref> [[Texas Instruments]], DeviceTone, [[Nordic Semiconductor]], [[Oticon]], and [[Bose Corporation|Bose]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zephyrproject.org/#members|title=Zephyr Project Members}}</ref>
