Microsoft was originally founded on April 4th, 1975, and the tech giant is now celebrating its 50-year anniversary. Microsoft started with a focus on personal computers, building the very software that helped it achieve an early goal of a PC on every desk and in every home.
The success of Windows and Office has allowed Microsoft to launch devices like the Xbox and Surface line and transform its business into software and services in the cloud. Now, Microsoft looks ahead to its next 50 years in a period of AI that could transform everything it does.
Follow along for our coverage of Microsoft’s 50 years, the company’s celebrations, and what’s next for one of the world’s most valuable tech companies.
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How Microsoft made it through 50 years
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
In 2005, Microsoft’s leaders were starting to get worried. Windows and Office were doing well, but the company’s lead software architect, Ray Ozzie, warned them that an emerging trend threatened Microsoft’s very existence.
“A new business model has emerged in the form of advertising-supported services and software,” warned Ozzie in his famous memo. “This model has the potential to fundamentally impact how we and other developers build, deliver, and monetize innovations.”
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Microsoft is now 50 years old
Fifty years ago today, Micro-Soft was founded by friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen. As the name implies, Microsoft was originally focused on microprocessors and software, and Gates and Allen created the company to develop software for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer.
Founded on April 4th, 1975, Microsoft went on to strike a deal with IBM to provide software for its first PC in 1980. This became the foundation of MS-DOS, which dominated IBM-compatible PCs during the ’80s. Microsoft’s early success in developing software for PCs eventually led to the first version of Windows in 1985 and a dream of a PC on every desk and in every home.
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Microsoft’s three CEOs get roasted by Copilot.
It’s pretty rare to see Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and CEO Satya Nadella together, but the company’s 50-year anniversary has united the trio. Microsoft has used the opportunity to get Copilot to interview all three and roast them. The full conversation is available in the Copilot app.
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Here are Microsoft’s 50th anniversary Xbox themes and wallpapers.
Microsoft turns 50 on Friday April 4th, and its celebrating early with a new Xbox Dynamic Background, some nostalgic wallpapers, and a 50th anniversary theme for Solitaire. You can grab the wallpapers from here, apply the Dynamic Background on Xbox Series S / X console, grab an Xbox profile badge from the Xbox Insider Hub, and apply the 50th anniversary theme directly in Solitaire. Microsoft is also holding a special event on Friday to announce some new additions to Copilot.
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The 50 best things Microsoft has ever made
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
This week, on April 4th, Microsoft turns 50 years old. The company has gone through sweeping changes over that time — from two guys in New Mexico to more than a quarter-million employees worldwide, from making text-based operating systems to holographic video games — but through the decades, it’s remained a foundation of the tech world.
Microsoft has made a lot of products over its 50 years, ranging from file formats and PC accessories to cloud servers and design languages. A great many were duds — it’s hard to nail everything over five decades — but a lot were memorable, fascinating, or simply excellent products that would go on to be used by billions of people or change the industry in their wake.
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Microsoft is holding a 50th anniversary and Copilot event in April
Microsoft has started sending out invites to a 50th anniversary and Copilot event at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The April 4th event will take place on the day Microsoft marks 50 years since it was first founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975.
The event on Microsoft’s campus will include an employee-only celebration of the company’s 50 years, alongside details on what’s next for the consumer side of Microsoft’s Copilot AI companion. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, and other “leaders of past and present” will be part of the Copilot and 50th anniversary event.
