Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016.
Microsoft announced the agreement in June 2016 and completed the acquisition in December of that year. The all-cash transaction was valued at approximately US$26.2 billion. LinkedIn continued operating as a distinct brand and service under Microsoft rather than being renamed as a Microsoft social network.
LinkedIn was founded in 2002 and launched publicly in 2003 as a professional networking website. Its platform lets members maintain professional profiles, connect with colleagues, recruit employees, publish content, and search for jobs. The service became especially valuable to Microsoft because it complemented products such as Office, Dynamics, and enterprise cloud services.
The purchase is different from Microsoft’s later acquisitions of companies such as GitHub, bought in 2018, and Activision Blizzard, completed in 2023. Those deals involved different parts of Microsoft’s business strategy. LinkedIn remains one of the clearest examples of Microsoft purchasing a large professional-networking platform and preserving its independent identity.