Microsoft, founded in 1975, is one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies by market capitalization.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen established Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to develop and sell software for the Altair 8800 personal computer. The company later became closely associated with MS-DOS and Windows, operating systems that helped standardize personal computing.
Microsoft’s modern market value reflects several major businesses rather than one product. Windows, Microsoft 365, Azure cloud computing, Xbox, LinkedIn, and enterprise software all contribute to its global operations. Azure in particular became a major growth engine as companies shifted workloads to cloud infrastructure.
Microsoft is sometimes confused with its original product focus, but it is now a diversified technology corporation. Its public shares trade under the ticker symbol MSFT.