Lucasfilm nearly closed a deal in 1985 to sell Pixar to GM & Philips, both of which were interested in it for it's computing technology, not for movie making.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/2/5865467/pixar-was-nearly-bought-by-gm-and-philips-in-1985
Sometimes, we can be thankful for the paths history did not travel down.