Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that was developed as a low-cost, low-power alternative to wired connections. It was originally developed in the late 1990s by Ericsson and adopted as a standard by an industry consortium known as the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Bluetooth allows for short-range wireless connections between various electronic devices like phones, computers, headphones, and more. It has become the standard for wireless personal area networks and continues to evolve and expand to more devices.