Microsoft began operations on April 4, 1975.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the company after developing and licensing a version of the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800, an early microcomputer. The company’s original name was Micro-Soft, a combination referring to microcomputer software.
Microsoft’s early success came from supplying operating systems and programming tools to personal-computer manufacturers. Its major breakthrough arrived when IBM selected Microsoft’s operating-system software for the IBM PC introduced in 1981. Microsoft later became dominant in desktop operating systems and office productivity software.
The company is sometimes dated to 1976 because “Microsoft” was registered as a trademark that year, but the accepted founding date is April 4, 1975. Microsoft’s headquarters are in Redmond, Washington, where the company moved from its early home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.