WHY THE STEVE JOBS-IBM DEAL COLLAPSED AT THE LAST MINUTE NeXT had been negotiating a license agreement with IBM to deploy NeXTSTEP on its PS/2 and RS/6000 systems, offering a potential counterweight to Microsoft. However, Steve Jobs unexpectedly withdrew, causing the deal to collapse at the final moment. After leaving Apple in 1985, Steve Jobs founded NeXT and came very close to securing a pivotal agreement with IBM. Had it succeeded, this alliance could have reshaped the personal computer market. Yet, the deal ultimately fell apart at the last minute after Jobs decided to pull out. The core of the proposed partnership was for IBM to license NeXTSTEP for deployment on its PS/2 line of PCs and technical workstations. For NeXT at the time, this was an exceptionally critical opportunity. The company was facing severe financial difficulties, while IBM was the dominant giant in the enterprise market. A partnership with IBM could not only strengthen NeXT’s financial position but also create a viable counterbalance to Microsoft. Brent Schlender, former journalist for The Wall Street Journal and Fortune and co-author of Becoming Steve Jobs, noted that the primary reason the deal failed stemmed largely from Steve Jobs himself. According to him, Jobs at that time was extremely rigid and did not negotiate in a way that fully considered his counterpart’s position. The book “Next Steve Jobs,” which chronicles the 12 years following Jobs’ founding of NeXT, provides further details about the behind-the-scenes events of this deal. According to the book, IBM pursued the alliance with NeXT with exceptional commitment. IBM engineers deeply engaged in porting NeXT’s software to the PS/2 platform. IBM even planned to convert an old factory in Kentucky into an assembly facility to produce devices running NeXTSTEP. The proposed agreement was not limited to a single software version; it also included provisions for future collaboration on subsequent releases. If NeXTSTEP succeeded, IBM would gain a lucrative new revenue stream. At that time, combining Ross Perot’s capital, IBM’s global market network, Businessland’s retail empire, and NeXT’s groundbreaking software could have curbed Microsoft’s expansion in personal computing. IBM also tested NeXTSTEP on its new high-performance workstation line, the RS/6000, and initial feedback was highly positive. After viewing a demonstration of NeXT’s software, a representative from Cell Oil described the system as “incredibly fast” and expressed intent to purchase thousands of units. Yet, as negotiations entered their critical phase, Jobs became entrenched in conflict. He understood that partnering with IBM could be existential for NeXT—but the terms of the deal directly contradicted his desire to maintain control over his technology. As described in the book, the IBM deal gave Jobs a sense of déjà vu. In exchange for $30 million, he would have had to surrender a portion of NeXTSTEP’s future royalties and grant IBM exclusive rights to operate the software on its enterprise computers for eight years. IBM would also gain rights to copy NeXTSTEP’s “look and feel.” For Jobs, this loss of control over his core technology was his greatest concern. Ultimately, Jobs decided to abandon the partnership. The book recounts that while en route to Dallas to present the deal to IBM, NeXT’s sales representative Mark Hayes spotted Jobs in an airport bookstore at San Francisco International Airport, head bowed into a book as if trying to avoid being recognized. Moments later, Jobs left the bookstore, walked toward the escalator, got into his Porsche, and drove straight back to the office. When the flight landed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, a limousine awaited him with fruit and Evian water—but Jobs never showed up. IBM interpreted his absence as a clear sign that NeXT’s goodwill for collaboration had vanished. In fact, this moment marked the near-total collapse of the deal. The book concludes that in his dealings with IBM, Jobs had overestimated his leverage—and he soon realized it himself. Years later, Jobs told Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, that failing to secure the IBM deal taught him a vital lesson: never push negotiation tactics too far. Although history cannot be rewritten, the question “What if this alliance had succeeded?” continues to be asked. According to NeXT’s leadership at the time—and long after—the NeXT-IBM partnership could have dramatically altered the trajectory of the personal computer market. The book notes that decades after the deal collapsed, NeXT’s leadership still regretted this lost opportunity. They believed that if the IBM partnership had materialized, it could have redirected the course of personal computing—and possibly prevented Windows from dominating the following decade. According to the book, IBM was prepared to invest nearly $100 million at a time when Windows was still struggling to gain traction. IBM could have delivered NeXT-powered machines to thousands of enterprise customers. Thus, NeXTSTEP once stood on the brink of becoming an industry standard—but Jobs let that opportunity slip away. By Chi-gyu Hwang