Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018 for $7.5 billion in an all-stock transaction.
GitHub is a platform where developers host code, track changes, review contributions, and collaborate on software projects. It was founded in 2008 by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, P. J. Hyett, and Scott Chacon. By the time Microsoft announced the acquisition, GitHub had become a central meeting place for open-source and commercial developers.
Microsoft said GitHub would remain an open platform and that developers could continue using programming languages, tools, and operating systems of their choice. Nat Friedman, previously associated with Xamarin, became GitHub’s chief executive after the deal.
The acquisition is sometimes confused with Microsoft’s purchase of LinkedIn in 2016. LinkedIn was a professional-networking service, while GitHub is primarily a software-development and code-collaboration platform.