Who co-founded Microsoft alongside Paul Allen?

Who co-founded Microsoft alongside Paul Allen? Bill Gates.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in 1975 after developing software for the Altair 8800, an early commercial microcomputer. Their first major product was Altair BASIC, a programming-language interpreter that helped users write and run programs on the machine.

The two had been childhood friends and programming collaborators in the Seattle area. They had previously created Traf-O-Data, a small venture that processed traffic data, but Microsoft became their breakthrough company. Gates served as the company’s first CEO and helped guide its early business and software strategy.

A common mix-up involves Steve Ballmer, who was an important early Microsoft executive and later became CEO, but was not a co-founder. Microsoft’s rise accelerated after it licensed MS-DOS to IBM for its personal computer, followed by the success of Windows. Gates eventually stepped away from day-to-day leadership, while the company later moved into enterprise software, cloud computing, gaming, and hardware.