GE is a major technology conglomerate based in the United States. It was founded in Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1878, by Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. It has gone on to become one of the most powerful and dynamic corporations in the world, and as of 2008 was the tenth-largest company on Earth in terms of market capitalization. It is viewed by many as being the single most successful conglomerate, and was a conglomerate long before the practice became commonplace in the 1960s.