Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It allows JavaScript to be run on the server-side and is well-suited for real-time, event-driven applications due to its asynchronous and non-blocking I/O model. It was created in 2009 by Ryan Dahl who was frustrated by the limitations of JavaScript in the server-side. Node.js uses an event loop that handles asynchronous callbacks and a single thread model to achieve scalable performance. Many large companies like Uber, LinkedIn, and Netflix use Node.js for applications that require real-time features or high throughput.