Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975.
The founders began the company after adapting a version of the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. Their early software business helped establish the idea that computer programs could be sold separately from computer hardware.
Microsoft later became central to the personal-computer industry through MS-DOS and Windows. It expanded into productivity software, enterprise services, gaming, cloud computing, and professional networking. Those businesses helped make Microsoft one of the world's largest companies by market capitalization.
The company was originally named Micro-Soft, a reference to microcomputer software. It was formally established in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and moved its headquarters to the Seattle area in 1979. Microsoft is also associated with Xbox and Azure, but neither product existed when Gates and Allen founded the business.