Explore the origins and evolution of Erlang in this insightful interview with Robert Virding, Erlang co-inventor, and Francesco Cesarini, founder of Erlang Solutions. Discover how Erlang transformed from an Ericsson project to a mainstream programming language, overcoming initial challenges in developer recruitment and ecosystem growth. Learn about Erlang's journey from a lab language to a robust ecosystem, its frameworks within the BEAM virtual machine, and its pivotal role in mission-critical applications for companies like WhatsApp, Ericsson, and Klarna. Gain valuable insights into Erlang's unique design, concurrency capabilities, and fault tolerance, which make it an essential tool for building high-performance, scalable systems in today's interconnected world.