In April 2015, Luke Wagner initiated the WebAssembly (Wasm) project with the goal of creating a binary format for web applications. By December 2019, the W3C recognized Wasm as the "fourth language of the web." Today, Wasm powers various applications, including Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop, and streaming services like Amazon Prime Video. Its versatility extends to embedded devices and cloud computing, where it supports Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS) and serverless architectures. The journey toward standardization involved collaboration between major browser teams. Early efforts included asm.js, a JavaScript subset designed by Mozilla engineers that enhanced performance by embedding static type information. Google’s Native Client and Portable Native Client aimed to run native code securely but faced challenges in portability and integration with JavaScript. The concept of a "trusted call stack" emerged from asm.js, allowing seamless interaction between compiled code and JavaScript, which later influenced WebAssembly's design. The name "WebAssembly" reflects its roots in asm.js while also signaling its web-oriented purpose. Despite some resistance to the name—given its broader applications outside of the web—the term stuck. By mid-2015, browser engines from Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, and Apple were aligned to support Wasm, culminating in a coordinated release. The project exemplifies a successful cross-company collaboration, overcoming initial skepticism to establish a new standard for web development.