Microsoft, founded in 1975, is known for the Windows operating system and Azure cloud platform.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen established Microsoft on April 4, 1975. The company first gained broad attention after developing software for early personal computers, then became a dominant force in computer operating systems and productivity software.
Windows remains one of Microsoft’s best-known products, while Azure supplies cloud infrastructure and platform services to businesses, governments, and developers. Microsoft also operates Office, Xbox, LinkedIn, and other major businesses.
These products help explain why Microsoft has repeatedly ranked among the world’s largest companies by market capitalization. Market cap measures investors’ valuation of the entire public company; it does not represent the combined retail price of every Microsoft product or the company’s annual sales.