Introduction
Some companies help shape an entire age. Microsoft is one of them. Its story runs from a tiny startup to a global force in tech.
This history is for people who are curious. You will see the early days, the big turning points, and the changes that still shape our world today.
We will follow Microsoft from two young friends with a big idea. Then we will move through the PC boom, the internet wave, the cloud shift, and the rise of AI.
How It All Started
Microsoft began with two friends from Seattle, Bill Gates and Paul Allen. They loved computers at a time when very few people even saw one. They spent long hours learning to code on shared school machines.
Before Microsoft, they tried a small venture called Traf-O-Data. It read traffic data for city planners. The business did not become huge, but it taught them how to write software for real customers.
The turning point came in 1975. A magazine cover showed the Altair 8800, one of the first hobby computers. Gates and Allen saw a chance to write a BASIC language program for it.
The Birth of Microsoft
Gates and Allen contacted the Altair’s maker and promised a BASIC program. At that moment they had not even written it. They worked hard for weeks, finished the code, and the demo was a success.
On April 4, 1975, they formed a new company. They called it “Micro-Soft,” short for microcomputer software. The business started in Albuquerque, New Mexico, close to the Altair company.
In those early days, they sold versions of BASIC and other tools to different computer firms. The focus was clear and simple. Microsoft would write software and let others build the machines.
Early Growth and Growing Pains
By the late 1970s, personal computers were slowly spreading. Microsoft kept adding new language products for many brands. This helped the company become known across the young PC industry.
In 1978, Microsoft opened its first overseas office in Japan. Soon after, the main office in the USA was moved from Albuquerque to the Seattle area, in Bellevue, Washington. That kept the team close to home and to a growing pool of talent.
In 1981, Microsoft incorporated in Washington state. Around this time, IBM was working on a new personal computer and needed an operating system. That need would change the company forever.
The IBM PC Deal and MS-DOS
IBM chose Microsoft to supply the operating system for its new PC. Microsoft acquired an existing system called 86-DOS, adapted it, and licensed it to IBM as PC-DOS. Microsoft also kept the rights to sell its own version, MS-DOS, to other computer makers.
This model turned out to be powerful. Many companies started making IBM-compatible PCs and needed an operating system. MS-DOS became a common choice and spread with every new machine sold.
The IBM deal did more than bring in revenue. It put Microsoft at the center of a rising standard for personal computers, setting the stage for the next big leap.
From DOS to Windows
Working with text commands in DOS was not easy for most people. Other companies were exploring graphical interfaces. Microsoft knew it needed its own answer.
In 1985, the company released Windows 1.0. It ran on top of DOS and used simple windows, menus, and a mouse. Early versions were limited, but they pointed to a new way to work with PCs.
The real breakthrough came with Windows 3.0 in 1990. It was faster, more stable, and much more useful for business and home users. Windows started to become the normal way people used a PC.
Office and the PC Boom
While Windows grew, Microsoft also built key programs for everyday work. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint helped people write, calculate, and present. In 1989, the company bundled these tools as Microsoft Office.
The idea was simple. Sell a full tool set rather than single programs. This bundle helped Office become the standard set of tools in many offices and schools.
Through the 1990s, the PC market exploded. Windows and Office were installed on millions of machines. Microsoft went public in 1986, moved to a large campus in Redmond, and created many employee millionaires along the way.
Legal Battles and Public Scrutiny
Rapid success also brought serious questions from governments. Microsoft’s strong position in operating systems and browsers drew the eye of regulators. They worried that some tactics could limit fair competition.
In the late 1990s, the United States brought a major antitrust case against Microsoft. The focus was on how Windows was packaged with Internet Explorer. After years of legal fights, the company reached a settlement that set rules on how it could act.
In Europe, regulators also took action. The European Union fined Microsoft and pushed for changes in how it handled media players and server software. The company had to learn to work within new legal limits while still growing.
New CEO and a Changing Tech World
In 2000, Steve Ballmer became CEO, while Bill Gates moved to a different role. The tech world was changing fast. The web was rising, and new rivals like Google and later Apple were gaining strength.
Microsoft pushed into server software, enterprise tools, and games. The launch of the Xbox in 2001 put the company into the living room, not just the office. Windows XP became a popular operating system for home and work.
Yet not every move worked. Some products, such as certain versions of Windows and Windows Phone, struggled to win fans. The company needed a fresh direction as mobile and cloud services started to reshape the industry.
From Boxed Software to the Cloud
For many years, people bought software in boxes and installed it from discs. But as internet access improved, companies began to shift to subscriptions and online services. Microsoft had to make that shift too.
Office 365, launched in 2011, offered Office as a service. Customers paid regular fees and always had the latest version. This changed the business model from one-time sales to steady, recurring revenue.
At the same time, Microsoft built out its own cloud platform, later known as Microsoft Azure. It let businesses run their applications and store data in Microsoft data centers around the world.
Satya Nadella and a New Direction
In 2014, Satya Nadella became CEO. He had led cloud and enterprise efforts inside Microsoft and saw how the company could change. Under his leadership, Microsoft embraced a mission “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”
Nadella shifted the focus from only Windows to cloud services and cross-platform tools. Microsoft began to support Linux more deeply and worked closely with open-source communities. The company changed its public image from a hard rival to a more open partner.
He also pushed cultural change. Inside the company, the idea of a “growth mindset” became central. Teams were urged to learn, share, and collaborate instead of guarding turf.
Strategic Acquisitions and New Lines of Business
Microsoft used acquisitions to move into new areas. In 2016, it bought LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. This gave Microsoft a huge base of career and business data.
In 2018, the company bought GitHub, a popular site for developers. This helped Microsoft reconnect with programmers and support open-source projects more directly. It also made Azure more attractive to developers.
Later, the company acquired Nuance Communications, a leader in speech and healthcare AI, and Activision Blizzard, a major game publisher. These moves deepened Microsoft’s role in cloud, industry-specific tools, and gaming content.
The Age of AI and Copilot
In the 2020s, artificial intelligence became the next big platform shift. Microsoft had already built AI tools, but the partnership with OpenAI took things much further. OpenAI developed advanced language models, and Microsoft provided cloud power through Azure.
The companies expanded their partnership in 2023, tying OpenAI’s models more closely to Microsoft products. AI began to appear in search with a new version of Bing, and in the Edge browser. Users could ask questions in natural language and get detailed answers.
Microsoft then launched Microsoft 365 Copilot. It brought AI into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. Users could draft text, summarize meetings, analyze data, and more, all with simple prompts.
Where Microsoft Stands Today
Today, Microsoft is one of the world’s largest public companies. It has hundreds of thousands of employees and serves customers in almost every country. The headquarters campus in Redmond, Washington, is like a small city.
The business is grouped into major areas. Productivity and Business Processes includes Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, and Dynamics. Intelligent Cloud covers Azure and related server and cloud services.
The More Personal Computing group includes Windows, Surface devices, Xbox, and search and advertising. Across all of these areas, AI and Copilot features are now becoming part of everyday work and play.
Interesting Facts About Microsoft
Some details from Microsoft’s journey are fun and surprising. They show the human side behind the products and numbers. Here are a few highlights drawn from verified history.
These facts can help you see the company from a new angle. They mix small origin stories with big moves. Together they show how a simple idea grew into a global influence.
Even if you know Microsoft software well, you may still find one or two things here that you did not expect.
- The original name was “Micro-Soft” with a hyphen. The hyphen was later dropped to form the current name.
- One of the first major products was a BASIC language program for the Altair 8800, a hobbyist computer.
- Microsoft’s first international office opened in Japan in the late 1970s, long before many people had a PC at home.
- Bill Gates stepped down from day-to-day work at Microsoft to focus on philanthropy but remained an influential figure and board member for many years.
- Microsoft’s Xbox line was a bold move into video games, taking the company far beyond its roots in office software.
- GitHub, once seen as a symbol of open-source culture, is now part of Microsoft, showing how much the company’s stance on open source has changed.
- Microsoft and OpenAI’s partnership has turned Azure into a leading platform for large AI models and tools.
Lessons Learned from Microsoft
Microsoft’s story is not only a record of products and profits. It also offers useful lessons for leaders, founders, and anyone curious about how big organizations change. The company has had wins, setbacks, and many course corrections.
These lessons come from verified events in its history. They show patterns that show up again and again. You can spot them in strategy, culture, and how Microsoft deals with partners and regulators.
While your own work may be on a much smaller scale, the ideas still translate. They reflect choices about focus, timing, and how to respond when the world shifts.
- Own the key layer. Microsoft focused on system software and platforms, not just single tools. Controlling a platform like Windows or Azure can drive long-term strength, but it also brings extra duties and scrutiny.
- Licensing can scale faster than hardware. By licensing software to many hardware makers, Microsoft grew alongside the entire PC market without building machines itself.
- Success can attract regulators. The company’s legal battles in the United States and Europe show that strong positions must be balanced with fair practices and open standards.
- Big companies can still pivot. The shift from boxed software to cloud and subscriptions, and then to AI-driven tools, shows that large firms can reinvent themselves with the right push.
- Culture matters as much as strategy. Satya Nadella’s focus on a growth mindset and collaboration changed how employees worked and how outsiders viewed Microsoft.
- Acquisitions and partnerships shape the future. Deals such as LinkedIn, GitHub, Nuance, and Activision Blizzard, plus the OpenAI partnership, all broadened what Microsoft could offer.
- Infrastructure is a quiet advantage. Years of investment in data centers, networks, and tools gave Microsoft a base to meet rising demand for cloud and AI services.
Detailed Timeline of Microsoft
A timeline is a simple way to see how Microsoft changed over the years. You can follow the steps from a small startup to a leader in cloud and AI. Key dates mark products, deals, and big shifts.
The list below uses public, verified dates from company materials and trusted records. It is not every event, but it covers many of the most important ones. You can use it as a quick reference for the company’s long journey.
Look at how the focus moves over time. Early entries center on operating systems and PCs. Later ones highlight cloud, services, and artificial intelligence.
Microsoft
This section shows selected milestones from the birth of Microsoft to recent years. Each date marks a moment when something important shifted for the company. You can trace patterns in products, deals, and direction.
The years move from the first days with BASIC and MS-DOS, through Windows and Office, and into cloud and AI. Not every product is listed, but the major turning points are here. They give a clear path through five decades of change.
Use this as a quick guide if you are writing, teaching, or just exploring tech history. It shows how choices in one decade can echo many years later.
1975
Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to develop software for personal computers.
1978
The company opens its first international office in Japan, marking the start of its global reach.
1979
Microsoft moves its headquarters from Albuquerque to Bellevue, Washington, returning closer to the founders’ hometown.
1981
Microsoft incorporates in Washington state and supplies MS-DOS for the IBM PC, setting the stage for rapid growth.
1985
Windows 1.0 is released as a graphical layer on top of MS-DOS, pointing toward a future of visual interfaces.
1986
Microsoft goes public on Nasdaq and moves to a new campus in Redmond, Washington.
1989
Microsoft Office is introduced as a bundle of productivity programs such as Word and Excel.
1990
Windows 3.0 launches and becomes a commercial success, helping to make Windows the standard PC interface.
1995
Windows 95 is released with major fanfare and built-in internet features, reinforcing Microsoft’s role on the desktop.
1998–2001
The United States brings an antitrust case against Microsoft, ending in a settlement that sets conduct rules for the company.
2000
Steve Ballmer becomes CEO, as Bill Gates shifts to a new role focused on technology and long-term vision.
2001
Microsoft launches the first Xbox console and releases Windows XP.
2011
Office 365 begins offering Office as a subscription service delivered from the cloud.
2014
Satya Nadella is named CEO and starts a new focus on cloud, openness, and a growth mindset.
2016
Microsoft announces and completes the acquisition of LinkedIn, the leading professional network.
2018
The company acquires GitHub, a major hub for software developers and open-source projects.
2021
Windows 11 is announced, bringing a refreshed design and deeper integration with Microsoft services.
2022
Microsoft completes its purchase of Nuance Communications, expanding its work in speech and healthcare AI.
2023
Microsoft and OpenAI deepen their partnership, and Microsoft rolls out AI-powered Bing, Edge, and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
2023
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes, making gaming content and services a larger part of Microsoft’s future.
2025
Microsoft marks its 50th anniversary as a global leader in cloud, productivity, gaming, and AI platforms.
Sources: Microsoft, Wikipedia, U.S. Department of Justice, European Union, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Reuters, Associated Press, OpenAI