Microsoft introduced Windows, Office, and Azure and was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
Gates and Allen established Microsoft in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company first became known for developing and licensing software for personal computers, especially its version of the BASIC programming language and later the MS-DOS operating system.
Windows became Microsoft’s best-known consumer operating system, while Microsoft Office became a major suite for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Azure, launched commercially in 2010, expanded the company into cloud computing and competes with services such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
Microsoft is often described as a software company, but its activities also include cloud infrastructure, business applications, gaming through Xbox, search, advertising, and hardware. Its market capitalization reflects investor expectations across these businesses rather than the value of Windows alone.