Microsoft operates the Azure cloud platform and was co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975.
Gates and Allen established Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on April 4, 1975. The company first became known for software, including its version of the BASIC programming language and later the MS-DOS operating system supplied for IBM-compatible personal computers.
Microsoft launched Windows in 1985 and developed the Office productivity suite, Xbox consoles, Surface devices, and enterprise software. Azure, introduced commercially in 2010 as Windows Azure, became a major cloud-computing platform offering computing, storage, databases, networking, and artificial-intelligence services.
Microsoft is often confused with Microsoft Azure because Azure is one of its products, not a separate public company. The corporation is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its wide range of recurring software and cloud revenue has helped make it one of the largest companies by market capitalization.