Microsoft was founded in 1975 in New Mexico.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen established the company in Albuquerque after developing a version of the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. The company was originally written as Micro-Soft, a name referring to microcomputer software. Gates and Allen later moved the business to the Seattle area, where Microsoft developed into a major software corporation.
Microsoft's rise was driven first by operating systems and productivity software, especially MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. It later expanded into enterprise computing, cloud services, gaming, hardware, and professional networking. Azure cloud services and Windows remain important parts of its business, while Microsoft 365 and Xbox broaden its reach.
The founding location is often confused with Microsoft's later headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Albuquerque was the company's original base; Redmond became its long-term corporate home after the business relocated in 1979.