---
title: "Microsoft Founded"
year: 1975
country: "United States"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1975/microsoft-founded"
slug: "microsoft-founded"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1975-01-01"
---

# Microsoft Founded

> Gates and Allen launched the software company that would dominate personal computing and reshape the global technology industry.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, initially to develop software for the newly released Altair 8800 computer. The company's early focus on programming languages and operating systems positioned it to become the dominant force in personal computing for the next four decades.

## Summary

Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC) is a C++ object-oriented library for developing desktop applications for Windows.

## Key facts

- **Founding date**: April 4, 1975
- **Location**: Albuquerque, New Mexico
- **Founders**: Bill Gates, Paul Allen
- **First product**: Altair BASIC interpreter
- **Initial employees**: 2
- **IPO year**: 1986
- **IPO share price**: $21

## Timeline

- **1975-04-04** - Microsoft founded
  Bill Gates and Paul Allen establish Microsoft in Albuquerque to develop software for the Altair 8800 microcomputer.
- **1975-07-01** - Altair BASIC ships
  Microsoft delivers its first commercial product, an implementation of the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800.
- **1981-06-01** - IBM partnership announced
  IBM selects Microsoft to provide the operating system for its personal computer, leading to MS-DOS.
- **1983-11-20** - Microsoft Mouse released
  Microsoft introduces its first hardware product, the mouse for IBM PCs.
- **1985-04-02** - Windows 1.0 launched
  Microsoft releases Windows, a graphical user interface for MS-DOS, competing directly with Apple's Macintosh.
- **1986-03-13** - Microsoft IPO
  Microsoft goes public at $21 per share, with Gates, Allen, and other early employees becoming millionaires.
- **1990-05-22** - Windows 3.0 released
  Windows 3.0 becomes the first commercially successful graphical interface for IBM PCs, driving mass adoption.
- **1995-08-24** - Windows 95 ships
  Windows 95 becomes a cultural phenomenon, with plug-and-play support and integrated internet connectivity reshaping the PC market.

## Voices

- **Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-founder** (developer, predictive) - Early Microsoft promotional materials and Gates interviews, 1975-1976
  > A computer on every desk and in every home - that's what we're building toward. Software is going to be the key.
- **Paul Allen, Microsoft Co-founder** (industry, celebratory) - Synthesized from period accounts - Microsoft founding retrospectives
  > We saw that personal computers were going to be huge, and someone needed to provide the software. We decided it should be us.
- **Jon Shirley, Computer industry analyst** (analyst, skeptical) - Synthesized from period accounts - 1975 industry commentary
  > A company selling just software? Without hardware to anchor it? That's an unproven model in an unproven market.
- **Steve Ballmer, early Microsoft employee** (developer, predictive) - Synthesized from period accounts - early Microsoft oral histories
  > What Gates and Allen saw was that the microprocessor revolution meant software would become the limiting factor, not hardware.
- **An unnamed computer hobbyist, Albuquerque New Mexico** (consumer, supportive) - Synthesized from period accounts - Albuquerque tech community recollections
  > These young guys showed up with an operating system for the Altair. Finally, someone's making software that actually works.

## Impact

Microsoft's founding marked the beginning of the software industry as a standalone commercial sector. By betting on microcomputers when IBM and established tech companies dismissed them, Gates and Allen captured the OS market and fundamentally reshaped how computing power reached businesses and consumers.

## Sources

- [Microsoft Foundation Class Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Foundation_Class_Library) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1975/microsoft-founded