Digital Research, Pacific Grove, California
From The Six Serendipities of Microsoft
The IBM design team knew immediately which operating system it wanted ...They wanted CP/M, a product of .. Digital Research, of Pacific Grove, California. But when IBM first approached Digital Research, the company's founder Gary Kildall was out of the office for the day. In his absence, Kildall's wife and business associates were reluctant to sign the stringent IBM nondisclosure agreement...
Don't think I need to tell you where the IBM team went next.