ðə kˈʌmpəni wʌz fˈaʊndᵻd ˌɔn mˈɑːɹtʃ wˈʌn, tˈuː θˈaʊzənd, æz ɐ dʒˈɔɪnt vˈɛntʃɚ bᵻtwˌiːn nɪntˈɛndoʊ ænd ðə bˈɪɡɪst ˈædvɚtˌaɪzɪŋ fˈɜːm ɪn dʒəpˈæn kˈɔːld dˈɛntsuː, hˈɛns ðə "ˌɛndˈiː" ɪnðə nˈeɪm.
The company was founded on March 1, 2000, as a joint venture between Nintendo and the biggest advertising firm in Japan called Dentsu, hence the "ND" in the name.