Cryptocurrency bitcoin opencoin , XRP

Ripple is a distributed ledger system that was founded in 2012. Ripple can be used to track different kinds of transactions, not just cryptocurrency.
The company we know today was originally named OpenCoin, but was rebranded to Ripple in 2015.
Founded in 2012 and based in San Francisco, California, Ripple Labs is a private company meaning that you cannot buy a share of its business anywhere.
It is important to note that investing in XRP does not mean that you are investing in Ripple Labs, but rather in a product that they have created.