Microsoft, founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, is known for Windows and Azure.
The company began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after Gates and Allen developed a version of the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. Microsoft later became a dominant personal-computer software company through MS-DOS and Windows.
Windows became one of the world’s most widely used desktop operating systems, while Microsoft expanded into business software, gaming, search, hardware, and cloud computing. Azure, launched in 2010, became a major part of Microsoft’s cloud business.
Microsoft’s market capitalization has placed it among the world’s most valuable public companies. It is sometimes confused with Microsoft’s former operating-system product names: Microsoft is the company, while Windows is one of its products.