About Microsoft - Stories (2024)

Explore a timeline of Microsoft’s journey

Digital skills for 25 million people

June 30, 2020

Microsoft committed to helping 25 million people worldwide acquire the new digital skills needed in a COVID-19 economy.

New supercomputer announced

May 19, 2020

Microsoft has built one of the top five publicly disclosed supercomputers in the world, making new infrastructure available to train extremely large AI models.

A pledge for the environment

January 16, 2020

Microsoft announced it will be carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050 will remove from the environment all the carbon it has emitted since it was founded in 1975.

Partnership to help farmers grow food

October 7, 2019

Microsoft and the USDA partnered to harness data and AI to help farmers cut costs, increase yields and grow crops more resilient to climate change.

Satya Nadella marks 5 years as CEO

February 4, 2019

The first five years of CEO Satya Nadella’s tenure were a period of transformation and growth for the company.

Azure continues to rise

June 27, 2018

Microsoft announced 54 Azure regions in fiscal year 2018, more than any other cloud provider, with services available in 140 countries worldwide.

Microsoft acquires GitHub

June 4, 2018

Microsoft acquired GitHub, a popular code-repository service used by many developers and large companies, for $7.5 billion in stock.

Underwater data center deployed

June 1, 2018

Microsoft deployed a data center with 864 servers near Scotland’s Orkney islands, marking the second phase of its Project Natick initiative.

Xbox Adaptive Controller unveiled

May 16, 2018

The launch of the Xbox Adaptive Controller made gaming accessible to players with disabilities worldwide.

Silicon Valley office redesigned

December 5, 2017

Microsoft embarked on a makeover of its 32-acre Silicon Valley campus with a vision of greater sustainability.

New Redmond campus plan unveiled

November 28, 2017

Microsoft announced a major overhaul of its 500-acre campus in Redmond, Washington, that will add 17 new buildings, 6.7 million square feet of revamped work space, trails and sports fields in four “villages.”

‘Hit Refresh’ is published

November 15, 2017

Satya Nadella’s first book, “Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone,” told the CEO’s personal journey from his childhood in India to the helm of one of the world’s most well-known companies.

Xbox One X is launched

November 6, 2017

Billed as the world’s most powerful console, the Xbox One X marked Microsoft’s entry into 4K gaming and was launched with celebrations worldwide.

Cross-Atlantic cable deployed

September 21, 2017

Microsoft and several partners launched the highest-capacity subsea cable to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

Rural internet project announced

July 10, 2017

Microsoft launches initiative to provide high-speed internet connections to millions of Americans living in rural areas.

Teams platform introduced

March 17, 2017

Microsoft Teams launched, quickly becoming the company’s fastest-growing app.

Microsoft buys LinkedIn

December 8, 2016

Microsoft’s $26.2-billion acquisition of LinkedIn aimed to grow the professional networking site and integrate it with Microsoft’s enterprise software, such as Office 365.

Microsoft expands AI investment

September 29, 2016

Microsoft Research AI was formed, bringing together researchers and more than 5,000 computer scientists and engineers to expand the company’s artificial intelligence efforts.

Windows 10 arrives

July 29, 2015

Microsoft purchases ‘Minecraft’

September 15, 2014

Microsoft’s $2.5-billion purchase of “Minecraft” brought the wildly popular block-building and adventure game to new players across multiple platforms.

Bringing Office to more devices

March 27, 2014

Microsoft’s launch of Office for iPad brought apps such as Word and PowerPoint to users across devices.

Satya Nadella named CEO

February 4, 2014

Longtime Microsoft executive Satya Nadella was named CEO, succeeding Steve Ballmer to become only the third leader in the company’s 39-year history.

Xbox One launches

November 22, 2013

The successor to the Xbox 360, Xbox One was the third home gaming console in the Xbox family.

Outlook.com introduced

February 18, 2013

Microsoft purchased Hotmail, one of the world’s first webmail services, in 1997, replacing it with Outlook.com six years later.

Surface hits the market

October 26, 2012

The Surface hybrid tablet was the first in Microsoft’s flagship line of first-party PCs.

Employee giving tops $1 billion

October 18, 2012

When Microsoft launched its giving program in 1983, around 200 employees raised $17,000 for nonprofit organizations.

Microsoft acquires Skype

October 13, 2011

Microsoft purchased Skype for $8.5 billion, deepening the company’s longstanding focus on real-time video and voice communications, and providing new market opportunities serving Skype’s 160-plus million active users.

Office expands to the cloud

June 28, 2011

Microsoft took its flagship suite of productivity and collaboration services to the cloud with the launch of Office 365.

Bing search engine launches

June 3, 2009

Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, was created to not only provide search results, but also empower users to gain and use knowledge from the web.

Microsoft launches Windows Azure

October 27, 2008

Microsoft made its entry into cloud computing with Windows Azure, an internet version of Windows that ran from the company’s own data centers.

Steve Ballmer named CEO

January 13, 2000

Steve Ballmer became Microsoft’s second CEO, succeeding Bill Gates, who hired him in 1980 as the company’s first business manager. Soon after, Ballmer helped land a major deal with IBM to provide the operating system for its computers.

‘The Road Ahead’ published

November 21, 1995

Bill Gates’ first book, “The Road Ahead,” detailed the CEO’s vision of a personal computing revolution and information superhighway that would profoundly impact lives and industries.

Launch of Windows 95

August 24, 1995

The release of Microsoft’s much-anticipated new operating system was marked by midnight store launches and lines of customers worldwide.

Microsoft goes public

March 13, 1986

Microsoft went public with a $21 offering price that increased to $35.50 before the end of the day.

Microsoft moves to Redmond

February 26, 1986

Microsoft moved its headquarters from Bellevue, Washington, to a 30-acre lot in nearby Redmond with six buildings and a pond that came to be called “Lake Bill,” after Bill Gates.

First version of Windows announced

1985

Bill Gates announced Microsoft Windows, a graphical user interface for its MS-DOS operating system that he described as “unique software designed for the serious PC user.”

Microsoft is born

1975

Inspired by the January cover of Popular Electronics magazine, friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft – sometimes Micro-Soft, for microprocessors and software – to develop software for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer.