In which city was Microsoft founded in 1975?

Microsoft was founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen established Microsoft after developing a version of the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. The company initially operated from Albuquerque because MITS, the Altair’s manufacturer, was based there. Microsoft’s original name was Micro-Soft, written with a hyphen.

The company moved its headquarters to the Seattle area in 1979 and later established its main campus in Redmond, Washington. That later location is why many people incorrectly identify Seattle or Redmond as Microsoft’s founding city.

Microsoft became one of the world’s most valuable companies through software such as MS-DOS and Windows, followed by Office, Azure cloud services, Xbox, and enterprise products. Its market value has risen and fallen with changing expectations about personal computing, cloud infrastructure, and artificial intelligence.