#13 Microsoft

Company Name	Microsoft Corporation
Founded	April 4, 1975
Founders	Bill Gates, Paul Allen
Headquarters	Redmond, Washington, United States
Industry	Technology, Software, Hardware
Primary Products	Windows OS, Microsoft Office, Azure, Xbox, Surface devices, LinkedIn
CEO	Satya Nadella
Revenue (2023)	$211.91 billion
Market Capitalization	Around $2.5 trillion (as of 2024)
Key Competitors	Apple, Google, Amazon, IBM, Oracle
Core Services	Cloud computing, software, hardware, artificial intelligence
Notable Acquisitions	LinkedIn (2016), GitHub (2018), ZeniMax Media (2021)

1975	Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1980	Microsoft signs a contract with IBM to provide an operating system (MS-DOS) for their PCs.
1985	Release of Microsoft Windows 1.0, a graphical extension of MS-DOS.
1986	Microsoft goes public with an initial public offering (IPO).
1990	Launch of Windows 3.0, which became a major success for the company.
1995	Release of Windows 95, which introduced the Start menu and taskbar.
2000	Bill Gates steps down as CEO, with Steve Ballmer becoming the new CEO.
2001	Release of Windows XP and the first Xbox gaming console.
2007	Introduction of Windows Vista, followed by the launch of Microsoft’s first smartphone OS.
2010	Launch of Windows 7 and Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360.
2014	Satya Nadella becomes CEO, and Microsoft begins shifting focus to cloud services (Azure).
2016	Microsoft acquires LinkedIn for $26.2 billion.
2018	Microsoft acquires GitHub for $7.5 billion.
2021	Microsoft acquires ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion, entering the gaming market more deeply.
2023	Microsoft continues expanding in AI, cloud computing, and gaming industries, with a strong focus on Azure and AI technologies.