Microsoft turned 50 on April 4, 2025. As of September 8, 2026, it is 51 years old and in its 52nd calendar year. Microsoft uses April 4, 1975, as its commonly recognized founding date, even though Bill Gates and Paul Allen began work on the company’s first product earlier that year.
Why April 4 is Microsoft’s anniversary
The date reflects the beginning of the Gates–Allen software business that became Microsoft. In January 1975, the Popular Electronics cover featured the Altair 8800, an early microcomputer. Gates and Allen recognized that the machine needed software and began developing a BASIC interpreter for it.
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They sold the resulting product, Altair BASIC, to Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the Altair’s maker, in Albuquerque. Microsoft identifies Altair BASIC as its first product. The company’s own anniversary communications use April 4, 1975, as the founding date.
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Microsoft’s 50th-anniversary account and its 1975 historical timeline provide the company’s dating and origin story.
Microsoft existed as a project before its anniversary date
“Founded on April 4, 1975” is useful shorthand, but it compresses several different milestones:
- January 1975: The Altair 8800’s appearance created the opportunity that prompted Gates and Allen to develop software for it.
- Early 1975: Gates and Allen worked on the Altair BASIC interpreter and arranged its sale to MITS.
- April 4, 1975: The date Microsoft commonly recognizes as its founding.
- July 29, 1975: Gates used “Micro-soft” in a letter to Allen, according to Microsoft’s historical timeline.
- 1976: Microsoft’s history identifies this as the first year in which the company had an official name.
- February 3, 1977: Gates and Allen formalized their partnership agreement.
So Microsoft was not a fully established modern corporation on every one of those dates. The dates describe the evolution from an early software venture to a more formal business.
Who founded Microsoft?
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Gates was 19 and Allen was 22 when they began selling their first program, according to Microsoft’s historical account.
Gates often receives more public attention because he led Microsoft for many years, but Allen was an essential co-founder. He helped identify the importance of the Altair, contributed technical expertise, and played a central role in the company’s early development. Microsoft’s 50th-anniversary event honored Allen posthumously while bringing Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and CEO Satya Nadella together.
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Microsoft’s first product was Altair BASIC—not Windows
Microsoft began as a programming-language company. Its first product was Altair BASIC, a BASIC interpreter designed for the MITS Altair 8800.
That distinction matters because many people associate Microsoft primarily with Windows, Office, or Xbox. None of those products existed when the company began. The original opportunity was more basic: provide software that made a new kind of computer useful.
Gates and Allen developed the software around the Altair opportunity before they had regular access to the actual machine. The early business therefore combined technical improvisation with a commercial insight: software could become valuable independently of the hardware on which it ran.
Microsoft’s account of its 1975 history and Bill Gates’s recollection of Microsoft’s origin describe this early development.
How Microsoft grew from BASIC into a technology giant
Microsoft’s history is not simply a straight line from BASIC to artificial intelligence. Its growth came through repeated shifts to important computing platforms.
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1. Programming languages and early personal computers
In the late 1970s, Microsoft focused on programming languages and software licensing for emerging personal-computer makers. The basic strategy was to create software that other companies could distribute across their hardware platforms.
2. MS-DOS and the PC era
During the 1980s, Microsoft became a central software supplier for the IBM PC and the broader compatible-PC market. Operating-system software gave Microsoft influence beyond any single computer model and helped establish the company as a standard-setter in personal computing.
3. Windows and Office
Windows expanded Microsoft’s role on the desktop, while Office made the company indispensable to many workplaces. Together, the operating system and productivity applications created a powerful software ecosystem around documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email, and business workflows.
4. Enterprise software, servers, and online services
Microsoft later broadened beyond the desktop into server software, enterprise tools, internet services, gaming, and other businesses. This diversification helped reduce the company’s dependence on a single Windows upgrade cycle.
5. Cloud subscriptions and developer platforms
In the 2010s, Azure and subscription-based Microsoft 365 became increasingly important to Microsoft’s identity. LinkedIn and GitHub expanded its reach into professional networking and software development, while services such as Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code strengthened its relationship with developers.
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6. Artificial intelligence and Copilot
By the time of its 50th anniversary, Microsoft was presenting AI as its next major platform transition. Its anniversary messaging highlighted Azure AI Foundry, Copilot, GitHub, and Visual Studio Code alongside the company’s earlier eras.
That is Microsoft’s corporate framing, not proof that its current position was inevitable. The company has also faced major strategic setbacks, including difficult transitions in mobile, the mixed reception to Windows 8, browser-related antitrust scrutiny, and periods when it was slower than rivals to respond to major technology shifts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Microsoft emphasized at its 50th-anniversary event
Microsoft marked the anniversary on April 4, 2025. The event connected the company’s original software-platform strategy with its current emphasis on cloud computing and AI.
The narrative ran from Altair BASIC through Windows, Office, Xbox, Azure, developer tools, and Copilot. In practical terms, Microsoft was arguing that AI services are another version of a long-running strategy: build tools and platforms that developers, businesses, and consumers use across many kinds of computing.
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- Work at the speed of your ideas – Built with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite (12 Core) processors, Surface Laptop delivers fast, AI‑accelerated performance—making it the most powerful Surface laptop for everything from multitasking to demanding workloads.
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- Built-in AI Companion – Work smarter, create freely, and communicate with confidence—Copilot[5] on Windows 11 is always there to help.
Read Microsoft’s anniversary remarks for the company’s official account of the event and its current strategy.
What “50 years old” means for a company
A company can have several dates that look like a founding date:
- The start of the founders’ work
- The first product sale
- The first use of the company name
- A formal partnership agreement
- Legal incorporation
- A public stock listing
For Microsoft, “50 years old” refers to 50 years since the commonly recognized founding date of April 4, 1975. It does not mean that every legal, commercial, and organizational milestone occurred on that day.
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This is also why the wording needs a date qualifier. Articles published around April 4, 2025 could accurately say that Microsoft was “now 50.” That statement became outdated on April 4, 2026. The current wording is that Microsoft is 51 years old as of September 8, 2026.
The financial meaning of Microsoft’s transformation
Microsoft’s evolution also changed how it makes money. The company moved from selling software licenses and operating-system products toward a mix of subscriptions, cloud consumption, enterprise services, gaming, advertising, and software platforms.
Its fiscal-year reporting, rather than anniversary marketing, is the appropriate source for revenue, segment, cloud-growth, or investment claims. Microsoft’s FY2025 Form 10-K provides the formal business context for Microsoft 365, cloud services, Azure, gaming, and AI-related investment.
The short fact-check
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Was Microsoft founded in 1975? | Yes. Microsoft commonly uses April 4, 1975, as its founding date. |
| When did Microsoft turn 50? | April 4, 2025. |
| How old is Microsoft on September 8, 2026? | 51 years old. |
| Who founded it? | Bill Gates and Paul Allen. |
| What was its first product? | Altair BASIC, a programming-language interpreter for the MITS Altair 8800. |
| Was Microsoft officially named Microsoft on April 4, 1975? | Not necessarily. “Micro-soft” appeared in writing on July 29, 1975, and Microsoft identifies 1976 as the first year with an official name. |
| Was the formal Gates–Allen partnership created in 1975? | The partnership agreement is dated February 3, 1977. |
Bottom line
Microsoft did turn 50—but on April 4, 2025, not indefinitely. The company is 51 as of September 8, 2026. Its story began with Gates and Allen writing Altair BASIC for a new microcomputer, then expanded through operating systems, productivity software, cloud services, developer tools, gaming, and AI.
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