On October 7, Microsoft acquired Ally.io, a software service that measures companies' progress against OKRs. The acquisition positioned Microsoft to grow its presence in the market of providing an online education to large numbers of people. In early September 2021, it was announced that the company had acquired Takelessons, an online platform which connects students and tutors in numerous subjects.

Education category

It was an immediate success; 5,000 cards, a large number given the microcomputer market at the time, were purchased in the initial three months at $349 (~$1,112 in 2024) each and it was Microsoft's number one revenue source in 1980. Microsoft also marketed through an Apple dealer in West Palm Beach, Florida two products for the Radio-Shack TRS-80. “What unites us all is our commitment to the user, whether the user is at their office, at their desk, or working somewhere out in the wild.” The app features Karaoke mode for any track in any app (lyrics optional), letting users sing along or create custom mixes instantly.
The operating system was the first to require Microsoft Product Activation, an anti-piracy mechanism that requires users to activate the software with Microsoft within 30 days. The release included an updated version of the Windows 2000 kernel, enhanced DOS emulation abilities, and many of the home-user features found in previous consumer versions. It sported several new features such as enhanced multimedia abilities and consumer-oriented PC maintenance options, but is often regarded as one of the worst versions of Windows due to stability problems, restricted real mode DOS support and other issues. Microsoft, in 2000, released new products for all three lines of the company's flagship operating system, and saw the beginning of the end of one of its most prominent legal cases.
The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) was launched in October 2013 and Microsoft was part of the coalition of public and private organizations that also included Facebook, Intel and Google. On September 3, 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia's mobile unit for $7 billion (~$9.27 billion in 2024). To cope with the potential for an increase in demand for products and services, Microsoft opened a number of "holiday stores" across the U.S. to complement the increasing number of "bricks-and-mortar" Microsoft Stores that opened in 2012. On July 31, 2012, Microsoft launched the Outlook.com webmail service beta to compete with Gmail.

Microsoft AI’s design head wants her team to be AI-native by the end of the fiscal year

• Microsoft launched their second console, the Xbox 360, in 2005 – which was more successful than the original.
• The research laboratory oversees the firm’s consumer AI products, which includes Microsoft Copilot—its Gen AI chatbot which runs on OpenAI’s large language models.
• It employs higher-end processing power and new software, can distinguish between fine movements (such as a thumb movements), and can determine a user’s heart rate by looking at his/her face.
• In an attempt to extend its reach in the consumer market, the company acquired WebTV, which enabled consumers to access the Web from their televisions.
• In March 1992, Microsoft released Windows 3.1 along with its first promotional campaign on TV; the software sold over three million copies in its first two months on the market.
• On February 20, 2019, Microsoft Corp said it will offer its cyber security service AccountGuard to 12 new markets in Europe including Germany, France and Spain, to close security gaps and protect customers in political space from hacking.

In 2009, the opening show of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was hosted by Steve Ballmer for the first time. In 2008, Microsoft wanted to purchase Yahoo (first completely, later partially) in order to strengthen its position on the search engine market vis-à-vis Google. On the advertisement side of the deal, Microsoft's Atlas ad-serving division became the exclusive provider of previously unsold advertising inventory on Viacom owned web sites. The deal also made Viacom a preferred publisher partner for casual game development and distribution through MSN and Windows. The deal allowed Microsoft to license many shows from Viacom owned cable television and film studios for use on Xbox Live and MSN.
In January 2023, CEO Satya Nadella announced Microsoft would lay off some 10,000 employees. Microsoft has not released statements regarding Activision's recent legal controversies regarding employee abuse, but reports have alleged that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, a major target of the controversy, will leave the company after the acquisition is finalized. Microsoft plans to incorporate Ally.io into its Viva family of employee experience products.
This effectively ended the formal business partnership between Gates and Allen, which had been strained months prior due to a contentious dispute over Microsoft equity. The company restructured on June 25, 1981, to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington (with a further change of its name to "Microsoft Corporation, Inc."). The company's first international office lopebet was founded on November 1, 1978, in Japan, entitled "ASCII Microsoft" (now called "Microsoft Japan"), and on November 29, 1979, the term, "Microsoft" was first used by Bill Gates. Allen came up with the original name of Micro-Soft, a portmanteau of microcomputer and software. As of June 30, 2015, Microsoft has a global annual revenue of US$86.83 billion (~$112 billion in 2024) and 128,076 employees worldwide. In 1980, Microsoft formed a partnership with IBM to bundle Microsoft's operating system with IBM computers; with that deal, IBM paid Microsoft a royalty for every sale.
The successor to Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10 Mobile, was released November 20, 2015. On July 29, 2015, Microsoft released the next version of the Windows operating system, Windows 10. On January 21, 2015, Microsoft announced the release of their first Interactive whiteboard, Microsoft Surface Hub (part of the Surface family). On September 15, 2014, Microsoft acquired the video game development company Mojang, best known for its wildly popular flagship game Minecraft, for $2.5 billion (~$3.25 billion in 2024). On April 25, 2014, Microsoft acquired Nokia Devices and Services for $7.2 billion (~$9.37 billion in 2024).

• In January 2023, CEO Satya Nadella announced Microsoft would lay off some 10,000 employees.
• The operating system was the first to require Microsoft Product Activation, an anti-piracy mechanism that requires users to activate the software with Microsoft within 30 days.
• On December 19, 2007, Microsoft signed a five-year, $500 million (~$727 million in 2024) contract with Viacom that included content sharing and advertisements.
• Perplexity’s Windows app features native voice dictation, multi-modal AI search and deep desktop integration for rapid research.
• ] DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft formed a new company, DreamWorks Interactive (in 2000 acquired by Electronic Arts, which named it EA Los Angeles), to produce interactive and multimedia entertainment properties.
• On the advertisement side of the deal, Microsoft’s Atlas ad-serving division became the exclusive provider of previously unsold advertising inventory on Viacom owned web sites.

Welcome to the new Office -Microsoft 365 Copilot

On December 19, 2007, Microsoft signed a five-year, $500 million (~$727 million in 2024) contract with Viacom that included content sharing and advertisements. Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, the next versions of the company's server operating system and development suite, respectively, were released on February 27, 2008. Microsoft also released a new version of its Office suite, called Microsoft Office 2007, alongside Windows Vista. Formerly codenamed "Longhorn" in the early development stages, Windows Vista was released to consumers on January 30, 2007. On June 15, 2006, Bill Gates announced his plans for a two-year transition period out of a day-to-day role with Microsoft until July 31, 2008.
The app’s secure digital record-keeping, multi-channel communication and rapid document sharing make it a comprehensive solution for business owners seeking efficiency and control. Dashboard analytics provide real-time tracking of payments and expenses, while support for multiple payment gateways and formats ensures flexibility for freelancers and SMEs. Moon Invoice’s Invoice Maker & Estimate Creator automates business finance tasks with customizable templates, and instant printing and sharing via WhatsApp or email. Perplexity’s Windows app features native voice dictation, multi-modal AI search and deep desktop integration for rapid research. We are proud to announce this year’s winners, each exemplifying technical excellence, user satisfaction and transformative potential. The Microsoft Store Awards honor outstanding applications that elevate user experiences, drive productivity and inspire creativity across the Windows ecosystem.
On August 8, 1989, Microsoft introduced its most successful office product, Microsoft Office. Microsoft Works would later be sold with other Microsoft products including Microsoft Word and Microsoft Bookshelf, a reference collection introduced in 1987 that was the company's first CD-ROM product. On February 16, 1986, Microsoft relocated their headquarters to a corporate office campus in Redmond, Washington. Softletter estimated that in 1986 the "Big Three" of Lotus (9%), Microsoft (8%, more than $250 million), and Ashton-Tate (6%) together had 23% of total revenue of the top 100 microcomputer software companies. By then Forrester Research considered Microsoft, Ashton-Tate, Lotus Development, and Borland the "Big Four" of personal computer software. OS/2 was marketed in connection with a new hardware design proprietary to IBM, the PS/2.

Access your favorite apps

In December 2018, Microsoft announced Project Mu, an open source release of the UEFI core used in Microsoft Surface and Hyper-V products. On October 8, 2017, Joe Belfiore announced that work on Windows 10 Mobile was drawing to a close due to lack of market penetration and resultant lack of interest from app developers. During the previous summer of 2015 the company wrote down $7.6 billion (~$9.8 billion in 2024) related to its mobile-phone business and fired 7,800 employees from those operations. In May 2016, the company announced it will lay off 1,850 workers, taking an impairment and restructuring charge of $950 million (~$1.21 billion in 2024). It employs higher-end processing power and new software, can distinguish between fine movements (such as a thumb movements), and can determine a user's heart rate by looking at his/her face. On October 1, Microsoft announced its intention to launch a news operation, part of a new-look MSN, at the time of the Windows 8 launch that was later in the month.

2011: Microsoft Azure, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Microsoft Stores

Finally, a great deal of controversy took place when a set of internal memos from the company were leaked on the Internet. Microsoft launched its Indian headquarters as well, which would eventually become the company's second largest after its U.S. headquarters. Windows 98 came with Internet Explorer 4.0 SP1 (which had Windows Desktop Update bundled), and included new features from Windows 95 OSR 2.x including the FAT32 file system, and new features designed for Windows 98, such as support for multiple displays. In November 1996, Microsoft Office 97 was released, which is the first version to include Office Assistant.

2007: Foray into the Web, Windows 95, Windows XP, and Xbox

When the IBM PC debuted, Microsoft was the only company that offered operating system, programming language, and application software for the new computer. Due to potential copyright infringement problems with CP/M, IBM marketed both CP/M and PC DOS for US$240 and US$40, respectively, with PC DOS eventually becoming the standard because of its lower price. For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products for less than US$100,000, which IBM renamed to IBM PC DOS. IBM first approached Gates and Allen about Microsoft's upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) in July 1980, shortly after Gates's mother began working on United Way's executive board with IBM CEO John Opel. By the mid-1980s Microsoft had gotten out of the Unix business, except for its ownership stake in SCO. It grew to become the most popular version of Unix, measured by the number of machines running it (note that Unix is a multi-user operating system, allowing simultaneous access to a machine by several users).