Which company owns the LinkedIn professional networking platform?

Microsoft owns the LinkedIn professional networking platform.

Microsoft announced an agreement to acquire LinkedIn in June 2016, and the transaction closed in December 2016. LinkedIn continued operating as a distinct service, with its own website, brand, and professional-networking features.

LinkedIn was founded in 2002 and launched publicly in 2003. Its platform focuses on professional identities, employment, recruiting, business connections, and career-related publishing. Microsoft’s ownership connected LinkedIn with the company’s broader business-software strategy while preserving LinkedIn’s separate social network.

A common mix-up is associating LinkedIn with Facebook or Meta because both are social platforms. Their purposes differ: LinkedIn is primarily organized around work and professional relationships, while Facebook’s original focus was broader personal social networking.