Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen to market BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Windows. During the 41 years from 1980 to 2021 Microsoft released 9 versions of MS-DOS with a median frequency of 2 years, and 13 versions of Windows with a median frequency of 3 years.
- December also saw the company rebuilding Microsoft Edge as a Chromium-based browser; it was publicly released on January 15, 2020.
- The memo described Netscape with their Netscape Navigator as a “new competitor ‘born’ on the Internet”.
- Microsoft employed 127,104 people as of June 5, 2014, making this about a 14 percent reduction of its workforce as the biggest Microsoft layoff ever.
- It had to pay out US$32 million and produce more than one version of Windows for the country in the same vein as the European Union-one with Windows Media Player and Windows Messenger and one without the two programs.
Microsoft also announced relaunch of its controversial tool, Recall, in November 2024 after addressing privacy concerns. Initially criticized for taking regular screenshots without user consent, Recall was changed to an opt-in feature instead of being default on. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office monitored the situation and noted the adjustments, which included enhanced security measures like encryption and biometric access. While experts regarded these changes as improvements, they advised caution, with some recommending further testing before users opted in. In June 2024, Microsoft announced that it was building a “hyperscale data centre” in South East Leeds. In July 2024, it was reported that the company was laying off its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team.
Corporate identity
In June 2023, Microsoft released Azure Quantum Elements to run molecular simulations and calculations in computational chemistry and materials science using a combination of AI, high-performance computing and quantum computing. The service includes Copilot, a GPT-4 based large language model tool to query and visualize data, write code, initiate simulations, and educate researchers. In December 2022, Microsoft announced a new 10-year deal with the London Stock Exchange Group for products including Microsoft Azure; Microsoft acquired around 4% of LSEG as part of the deal. In April 2021, Microsoft announced it would buy Nuance Communications for approximately $16 billion.
On July 29, 2015, Microsoft released the next version of the Windows operating system, Windows 10. The successor to Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10 Mobile, was released November 20, 2015. On February 4, 2014, Steve Ballmer stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and was succeeded by Satya Nadella, who previously led Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise division. On the same day, John W. Thompson took on the role of chairman, with Bill Gates stepping down from the position, while continuing to participate as a technology advisor. On April 25, 2014, Microsoft acquired Nokia Devices and Services for $7.2 billion (~$9.37 billion in 2024). In May 2016, the company announced it will lay off 1,850 workers, taking an impairment and restructuring charge of $950 million (~$1.21 billion in 2024).
- IBM first approached Gates and Allen about Microsoft’s upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) in July 1980, shortly after Gates’s mother began working on United Way’s executive board with IBM CEO John Opel.
- On February 16, 1986, Microsoft relocated their headquarters to a corporate office campus in Redmond, Washington.
- On April 3, 2000, a judgment was handed down in the case of United States v. Microsoft Corp., calling the company an “abusive monopoly” and forcing the company to split into two separate units.
- Microsoft initially moved onto the grounds of the campus on February 26, 1986, weeks before the company went public on March 13.
- Windows 98 came with Internet Explorer 4.0 SP1 (which had Windows Desktop Update bundled), and included new features from Windows 95 OSR 2.x including the FAT32 file system, and new features designed for Windows 98, such as support for multiple displays.
Social Media
As a result, the company will record an impairment and restructuring charge of approximately $950 million, of which approximately $200 million will relate to severance payments. As such, it needs subsidiaries present in whatever national markets it chooses to harvest. Other countries have similar installations, to funnel profits back up to Redmond and to distribute the dividends to the holders of MSFT stock.
For Education
2007 also saw the creation of a multi-core unit at Microsoft, following the steps of server companies such as Sun and IBM. Increasingly present in the hardware business following Xbox, Microsoft 2006 released the Zune series of digital media players, a successor of its previous software platform Portable Media Center. These expanded on previous hardware commitments from Microsoft following its original Microsoft Mouse in 1983; as of 2007 the company sold the best-selling wired keyboard (Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000), mouse (IntelliMouse), and desktop webcam (LifeCam) in the United States. That year the company also launched the Surface “digital table”, later renamed PixelSense. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington.
present: Acquisitions, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows 11
Finally, a great deal of controversy took place when a set of internal memos from the company were leaked on the Internet. The documents also alluded to legal and other actions against Linux as well as other open source software. While Microsoft acknowledged the documents, it claimed that they are merely engineering studies. Despite this, some believe that these studies were used in the real strategies of the company. Computerworld wrote in 1987 that “Gates has pushed Windows almost fanaticallly for years”. DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft formed a new company, DreamWorks Interactive (in 2000 acquired by Electronic Arts, which named it EA Los Angeles), to produce interactive and multimedia entertainment properties. On August 24, 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95, a new version of the company’s flagship operating system which featured a completely new user interface, including a novel start button; more than a million copies were sold in the first four days after its release. By 1993, Windows had become the most widely used GUI operating system in the world.}
Board of directors
This characterization is derived from the perception that Microsoft provides nearly everything for its employees in a convenient place, but in turn overworks them to a point where it would be bad for their (possibly long-term) health. In May 2025, Microsoft announced that it is laying off more than 6,000 employees, around three percent of the company’s entire workforce. In July 2025, Microsoft announced another round of layoffs, cutting approximately 9,000 employees in its largest workforce reduction in over two years.
On October 15, 2018, Paul Allen died after complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In November 2018, Microsoft agreed to supply 100,000 HoloLens headsets to the United States military in order to “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy.” In 2009, the opening show of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was hosted by Steve Ballmer for the first time. During the show, Ballmer announced the first public Beta Test of Windows 7 for partners and developers on January 8, but also for the general public two days later.
It sported several new features such as enhanced multimedia abilities and consumer-oriented PC maintenance options, but is often regarded as one of the worst versions of Windows due to stability problems, restricted real mode DOS support and other issues. While Microsoft largely failed to participate in the rise of the Internet in the early 1990s, some of the key technologies in which the company had invested to enter the Internet market started to pay off by the mid-90s. The company also released the Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, which had built-in support for internet applications. In November 1996, Microsoft Office 97 was released, which is the first version to include Office Assistant. In 1997, Internet Explorer 4.0 was released, marking the beginning of the takeover of the browser market from rival Netscape, and by agreement with Apple, Internet Explorer was bundled with the Apple Macintosh operating system as well as with Windows. Windows CE 2.0, the handheld version of Windows, was released this year, including a host of bug fixes and new features designed to make it more appealing to corporate customers.
Microsoft: Windows bug blocks Microsoft 365 desktop app installs
In May 2024, Microsoft announced a $3.3 billion investment to build an artificial intelligence hub in southeast Wisconsin, tripling its initial proposal. In April 2024, Microsoft made a $1.5 billion investment in the Emirati AI firm G42. As part of the deal, G42 said it would use the Microsoft Azure platform for its AI development and deployment. Later that month, Microsoft unveiled plans to invest $1.7 billion in developing AI and cloud infrastructure in Indonesia. The plan includes establishment of data centers and partnerships to support digital transformation efforts.
On October 1, Microsoft announced its intention to launch a news operation, part of a new-look MSN, at the time of the Windows 8 launch that was later in the month. To cope with the potential for an increase in demand for products and services, Microsoft opened a number of “holiday stores” across the U.S. to complement the increasing number of “bricks-and-mortar” Microsoft Stores that opened in 2012. Microsoft released Windows XP and Office XP in 2001, a version that aimed to encompass the features of both its business and home product lines. The release included an updated version of the Windows 2000 kernel, enhanced DOS emulation abilities, and many of the home-user features found in previous consumer versions. XP introduced a new graphical user interface, the first such change since Windows 95. The operating system was the first to require Microsoft Product Activation, an anti-piracy mechanism that requires users to activate the software with Microsoft within 30 days.
2007: Foray into the Web, Windows 95, Windows XP, and Xbox
The first employee Gates and Allen hired was their high school collaborator Ric Weiland. The company’s first international office was founded on November 1, 1978, in Japan, entitled “ASCII Microsoft” (now called “Microsoft Japan”), and on November 29, 1979, the term, “Microsoft” was first used by Bill Gates. On January 1, 1979, the company moved from Albuquerque to a new home in Bellevue, Washington, since it was hard to recruit top programmers to Albuquerque. Shortly before the move, 11 of the then-13 employees posed for the staff photo on the right.
Microsoft is a founding member of the Open Networking Foundation started on March 23, 2011. This nonprofit organization is focused on providing support for a cloud computing initiative called Software-Defined Networking. The initiative is meant to speed innovation through simple software changes in telecommunications networks, wireless networks, data centers, and other networking areas. Gates retired from his role as Chief Software Architect on June 27, 2008, a decision announced in June 2006, while retaining other positions related to the company in addition to being an advisor for the company on key projects. Azure Services Platform, the company’s entry into the cloud computing market for Windows, launched on October 27, 2008.
Some analysts had deemed this unthinkable ten years prior, however, as in 2001 then-CEO Steve Ballmer called Linux “cancer”. Microsoft planned to launch a preview of Intune for Education “in the coming weeks”, with general availability scheduled for spring 2017, priced at $30 per device, or through volume licensing agreements. On March 1, 2016, chicken road Microsoft announced the merger of its PC and Xbox divisions, with Phil Spencer announcing that Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps would be the focus for Microsoft’s gaming in the future. On January 24, 2017, Microsoft showcased Intune for Education at the BETT 2017 education technology conference in London. Intune for Education is a new cloud-based application and device management service for the education sector. In May 2016, the company announced it was laying off 1,850 workers, and taking an impairment and restructuring charge of $950 million.
The statement also marked the beginning of three-part program to enhance Microsoft’s encryption and transparency efforts. Another study, released by the Open Source Development Labs, claimed that the Microsoft studies were “simply outdated and one-sided” and their survey concluded that the TCO of Linux was lower due to Linux administrators managing more servers on average and other reasons. On July 19, 2024, a global IT outage impacted Microsoft services, affecting businesses, airlines, and financial institutions worldwide.
In guise of competing with other Internet Companies such as the search service Google, in 2005 Microsoft announced a new version of its MSN search service. Later, in 2006, the company launched Microsoft adCenter, a service that offers pay per click advertisements, in an effort to further develop their search marketing revenue. Soon afterward, Microsoft created the CodePlex collaborative development site for hosting open source projects. Activity grew quickly as developers from around the world began to participate, and by early 2007 commercial open source companies, such as Aras Corp. began to offer enterprise open source software exclusively on the Microsoft platform.