In 1983, Gary Burrell was working for King Radio and his friend Min Kao was a contractor for Magnavox. The two decided to start their own business and formed Garmin in 1989. Garmin developed the first GPS device and had the U.S. Army as their first customer.
By 1995, Garmin had reached revenue of $105 million and by 2007, $1.77 billion.
By 2000, Garmin had more than 35 GPS patents, sold three million GPS devices, and was producing 50 different models. Company products were sold in 100 countries and carried by 2,500 independent distributors.
In 2015, the company acquired South Africa’s iKubu Ltd. for its Backtracker on-bicycle low power radar system.
While the company is best known for its GPS technology in the marine, automotive, and aviation sectors, the company also makes sports watches with GPS capabilities, as well as sports models similar to FitBit or Apple Watches. 
Company headquarters are located in Olathe, Kansas. Garmin is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol: GRMN.
