In 1979, a software research and development center was created to demonstrate the power of systematic and formal methods in software development. One of the first and biggest projects at Dansk Datamatik Center (DDC) was to develop an Ada compiler and run-time system. DDC made the first department of Defense (DoD) validated Ada compiler in Europe, and the Ada project was carried on in a subsidiary called DDC–I, Inc. This paper describes the background and start of DDC and some aspects of the formal development method called “Rigorous Approach to Industrial Software Engineering” (RAISE) as well as other DDC activities.