View source for Microsoft

{{Short description|American multinational technology corporation}}
{{Pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Microsoft Corporation
| logo = [[File:Microsoft logo and wordmark.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]
| logo_caption = Logo used since 2012
| logo_alt = A square divided into four sub-squares, colored red-orange, green, yellow and blue (clockwise), with the company name appearing to its right
| image = Aerial Microsoft West Campus August 2009.jpg
| image_upright = 1.15
| image_caption = Aerial view of the [[Microsoft campus]] in Redmond
| trade_name = 
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list
| {{NASDAQ|MSFT}}
| [[Nasdaq-100]] component
| [[Dow Jones Industrial Average|DJIA]] component
| [[S&P 100]] component
| [[S&P 500]] component
}}
| ISIN = {{ISIN|sl=n|pl=y|US5949181045}}
| industry = [[Information technology]]
| products = {{Unbulleted list
| [[Software development]]
| [[Computer hardware]]
| [[Consumer electronics]]
| [[Social networking service]]
| [[Cloud computing]]
| [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| [[Internet]]
| [[Corporate venture capital]]
}}
| predecessor = [[Traf-O-Data]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1975|04|04}} in {{Nowrap|[[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], U.S.}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list
| [[Bill Gates]]
| [[Paul Allen]]
}}
| hq_location = [[Microsoft Campus]]
| hq_location_city = {{nowrap|[[Redmond, Washington]]}}
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ubl|[[Satya Nadella]] ([[chairman]] & [[Chief executive officer|CEO]])|[[Brad Smith (American lawyer)|Brad Smith]] ([[Vice-Chairman|vice chairman]] & [[President (corporate title)|president]])|Bill Gates<!-- Please do not link; this has been already linked. See [[WP:OVERLINK]] --> ([[adviser|technical adviser]])}}
| brands = {{Flatlist|
* [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]
* [[Microsoft 365]]
* [[Microsoft Teams|Teams]]
* [[Visual Studio]]
* [[Xbox]]
* [[Microsoft Dynamics 365|Dynamics]]
* [[Microsoft Surface|Surface]]
}}
| services = {{Flatlist|
* [[Microsoft Edge|Edge]]
* [[Microsoft Azure|Azure]]
* [[Microsoft Bing|Bing]]
* [[LinkedIn]]
* [[Viva Engage]]
* [[Microsoft 365]]
* [[OneDrive]]
* [[Dynamics 365]]
* [[Microsoft Outlook|Outlook]]
* [[GitHub]]
* [[Microsoft Store (digital)|Microsoft Store]]
* [[Windows Update]]
* [[Xbox Game Pass|Game Pass]]
* [[Xbox network]]
}}
| revenue = {{Increase}} {{US$|281.7}}{{nbsp}}billion
| revenue_year = 2025
| operating_income = {{Increase}} {{US$|128.5}}{{nbsp}}billion
| income_year = 2025
| net_income = {{Increase}} {{US$|101.8}}{{nbsp}}billion
| net_income_year = 2025
| assets = {{Increase}} {{US$|619.0}}{{nbsp}}billion
| assets_year = 2025
| equity = {{Increase}} {{US$|343.5}}{{nbsp}}billion
| equity_year = 2025
| num_employees = 228,000
| num_employees_year = 2025
| divisions = {{Plainlist|
* [[Microsoft Gaming]]
* [[Microsoft 365]]
* [[Microsoft Research]]
* [[Microsoft AI]]
* Windows and Devices Group
* Microsoft Cloud 
* Microsoft Security
* Microsoft Industry 
* Microsoft Business Applications
* Microsoft Developer
}}
| subsid = {{Plainlist|
* [[GitHub]]
* [[LinkedIn]]
}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.microsoft.com/|microsoft.com}}
| footnotes = Financials {{as of|2025|06|30|lc=y|df=US}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000095017025100235/msft-20250630.htm |title=Microsoft Corporation Form 10-K |date=July 30, 2025 |publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] |pages=9, 50, 52}}</ref>
| module = {{infobox network service provider|child=yes|asn=8075}}
}}
{{Bill Gates series}}

<!--Brief introduction-->'''Microsoft Corporation''' is an American multinational technology conglomerate headquartered in [[Redmond, Washington]]. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the [[History of personal computers#The early 1980s and home computers|rise of personal computers]] through software like [[Windows]], and has since expanded to Internet services, [[cloud computing]], [[artificial intelligence]], video gaming, and other fields. Often described as a [[Big Tech]] company, Microsoft is the [[List of the largest software companies|largest software company by revenue]], one of the [[Trillion-dollar company|most valuable public companies]],{{Efn|Second behind Nvidia, as of September 2025}} and one of the [[List of most valuable brands|most valuable brands]] globally.<!--END Brief introduction; do not overload this section-->

<!--Brief history-->Microsoft was founded by [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]] to market [[BASIC interpreter]]s for the [[Altair 8800]]. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with [[MS-DOS]] in the mid-1980s, followed by Windows. During the 41 years from 1980 to 2021 Microsoft released 9 [[versions of MS-DOS]] with a median frequency of 2 years, and 13 [[versions of Windows]] with a median frequency of 3 years. The company's 1986 [[initial public offering]] (IPO) and subsequent rise in its share price created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000&nbsp;millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market. [[Steve Ballmer]] replaced Gates as CEO in 2000. He oversaw the then-largest of [[List of mergers and acquisitions by Microsoft|Microsoft's corporate acquisitions]] in [[Skype Technologies]] in 2011,<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2011 |title=Microsoft confirms takeover of Skype |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-13343600 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620073353/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-13343600 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |access-date=April 29, 2018 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> an increased focus on hardware<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blodget |first=Henry |date=August 23, 2013 |title=And Microsoft Is Giving Up On The Software Business! |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-device-and-services-2013-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802165822/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/microsoft-device-and-services-2013-8 |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=August 2, 2017 |work=Business Insider Australia |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2010 |title=Notify The Next Of Kin |url=http://www.informationweek.com/applications/notify-the-next-of-kin/d/d-id/1090416 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424124515/http://www.informationweek.com/applications/notify-the-next-of-kin/d/d-id/1090416 |archive-date=April 24, 2014 |access-date=April 24, 2014 |work=[[InformationWeek]]}}</ref> that led to its first in-house PC line, the [[Microsoft Surface|Surface]], in 2012, and the formation of [[Microsoft Mobile]] through [[Nokia]]. Since [[Satya Nadella]] took over as CEO in 2014, the company has changed focus towards cloud computing,<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 21, 2016 |title=Microsoft sees shares hit record high |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37724557 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016012110/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37724557 |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |access-date=October 7, 2017 |website=[[BBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 3, 2017 |title=Microsoft's cloud focus could mean yet more layoffs |url=https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/03/microsofts-cloud-focus-could-mean-yet-more-layoffs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802164433/https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/03/microsofts-cloud-focus-could-mean-yet-more-layoffs/ |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=October 7, 2017 |website=Engadget}}</ref> as well as its acquisition of [[LinkedIn]] for $26.2&nbsp;billion in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 8, 2016 |title=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission{{Snd}} Linkedin |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1271024/000110465916161289/a16-22816_18k.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018154931/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1271024/000110465916161289/a16-22816_18k.htm |archive-date=October 18, 2017 |access-date=April 29, 2018 |work=US SEC |quote=As a result of the Merger, a change in control of [Linkedin] occurred and [Linkedin] became a wholly-owned subsidiary of [Microsoft]. The transaction resulted in the payment of approximately $26.4 billion in cash merger consideration.}}</ref> Under Nadella's direction, the company has expanded its video gaming business to support the [[Xbox]] brand, establishing the [[Microsoft Gaming]] division in 2022 and [[Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft|the acquisition]] of [[Activision Blizzard]] for $68.7 billion in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=October 13, 2023 |title=Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition, Call of Duty now part of Xbox |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23791235/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-complete-finalized |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref><!--END Brief history-->

<!--Products-->Microsoft has been dominant in the [[IBM PC–compatible]] operating system market and the office software suite market since the 1990s. Its best-known [[List of Microsoft software|software products]] are the Windows line of [[List of Microsoft operating systems|operating systems]] and the [[Microsoft Office]] and [[Microsoft 365]] suite of productivity applications, which most notably include the [[Microsoft Word|Word]] word processor, [[Microsoft Excel|Excel]] spreadsheet editor, and the [[Microsoft PowerPoint|PowerPoint]] presentation program. Its flagship [[List of Microsoft hardware|hardware products]] are the Surface lineup of personal computers and Xbox video game consoles, the latter of which includes the [[Xbox network]]; the company also provides a range of consumer Internet services such as [[Microsoft Bing|Bing]] web search, the [[MSN]] web portal, the [[Outlook.com]] (Hotmail) email service and the [[Microsoft Store]]. In the enterprise and development fields, Microsoft most notably provides the [[Microsoft Azure|Azure]] [[cloud computing]] platform, [[Microsoft SQL Server]] database software, and [[Visual Studio]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}<!--END Products-->

<!--Current status-->In April 2019, Microsoft became the third public U.S. company to be [[Trillion-dollar company|valued at over $1 trillion]]. [[Criticism of Microsoft|It has been criticized]] for its [[Anti-competitive practices|monopolistic practices]], and the company's software received criticism for problems with [[ease of use]], [[Robustness (computer science)|robustness]], and [[Computer security|security]]. More recently, it has been criticized for its role in providing services to Israel during the [[Gaza war]].<!--END Current status-->

==History==
{{Main|History of Microsoft}}

{{For timeline}}

===1972–1985: Founding===
[[File:Altair 8800 and Model 33 ASR Teletype.jpg|left|thumb|256x256px|An Altair 8800 computer (left) with the popular Model 33 ASR Teletype as terminal, paper tape reader, and paper tape punch]]
[[File:1981BillPaul.jpg|thumb|left|[[Paul Allen]] and [[Bill Gates]] on October 19, 1981, after signing a pivotal contract with [[IBM]]<ref name="Allan 2001">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/A_History_of_the_Personal_Computer |title=A History of the Personal Computer |last=Allan |first=Roy A. |publisher=Allan Publishing |isbn=978-0-9689108-0-1 |year=2001 |access-date=July 17, 2010}}</ref>{{Rp|228|date=November 2012}}]]
[[File:Bill_Gates_and_Paul_Allen_Business_Cards.jpg|thumb|Bill Gates and Paul Allen's Original Business Cards located in the Microsoft Visitor Center]]
Childhood friends [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]] sought to make a business using their skills in [[computer programming]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520#early-life |title=Bill Gates |publisher=Biography.com |access-date=November 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106203412/http://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520#early-life |archive-date=November 6, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1972, they founded [[Traf-O-Data]], which sold a rudimentary computer to track and analyze automobile traffic data. Gates enrolled at [[Harvard University]] while Allen pursued a degree in computer science at [[Washington State University]], though he later dropped out to work at [[Honeywell]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Company History |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/microsoft-corporation-history/ |access-date=March 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806021000/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/microsoft-corporation-history/ |archive-date=August 6, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The January 1975 issue of ''[[Popular Electronics]]'' featured [[Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems]]'s (MITS) [[Altair 8800]] microcomputer,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/12/by_martin_finuc_2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090101055041/http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/12/by_martin_finuc_2.html |archive-date=January 1, 2009 |title=Harvard Square newsstand sold the magazine that started a revolution |work=Boston.com |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=December 30, 2008 |last=Finucane |first=Martin}}</ref> which inspired Allen to suggest that they could program a [[BASIC]] interpreter for the device. Gates called MITS and claimed that he had a working interpreter, and MITS requested a demonstration. Allen worked on a simulator for the Altair while Gates developed the interpreter, and it worked flawlessly when they demonstrated it to MITS in March 1975 in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]. MITS agreed to distribute it, marketing it as [[Altair BASIC]].<ref name="Allan 2001" />{{Rp|108, 112–114|date=November 2012}} Gates and Allen established Microsoft on April 4, 1975, with Gates as CEO,<ref name="BBCTL">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5085630.stm |title=Bill Gates: A Timeline |work=BBC News Online |publisher=BBC |date=July 15, 2006 |access-date=July 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622201711/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5085630.stm |archive-date=June 22, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> and Allen suggested the name "Micro-Soft", short for micro-computer software.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/10/02/206528/index.htm |date=October 2, 1995 |title=Bill Gates & Paul Allen Talk Check Out The Ultimate Buddy Act in Business History |work=Fortune |publisher=Time Inc. |last=Schlender |first=Brent |access-date=April 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503155554/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/10/02/206528/index.htm |archive-date=May 3, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Paul |date=2011 |title=Paul Allen: Idea Man |publisher=Penguin Group |page=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0141969385 |isbn=978-0-14-196938-1}}</ref> In August 1977, the company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first international office of [[ASCII Corporation|ASCII Microsoft]].<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n8/192_Kay_Nishi_bridges_the_cul.php |title=Kay Nishi bridges the cultural gap |last=Staples |first=Betsy |journal=Creative Computing |volume=10 |issue=8 |page=192 |date=August 1984 |access-date=July 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511110050/http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n8/192_Kay_Nishi_bridges_the_cul.php |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft moved its headquarters to [[Bellevue, Washington]], in January 1979.<ref name="BBCTL" />

Microsoft entered the [[operating system]] (OS) business in 1980 with its own version of [[Unix]] called [[Xenix]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.computersourcemag.com/articles/viewer.asp?a=695 |title=Under The Hood: Part 8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901182630/http://www.computersourcemag.com/articles/viewer.asp?a=695 |archive-date=September 1, 2006 |work=Computer Source |last=Dyar |first=Dafydd Neal |date=November 4, 2002 |access-date=July 14, 2010}}</ref> but it was [[MS-DOS]] that solidified the company's dominance. [[IBM]] awarded a contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the [[CP/M]] OS to be used in the [[IBM Personal Computer]] (IBM PC).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Engines That Move Markets: Technology Investing from Railroads to the Internet and Beyond |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9xS6t4ibxoC |year=2002 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-20595-1 |access-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323120013/https://books.google.com/books?id=k9xS6t4ibxoC |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called [[86-DOS]] from [[Seattle Computer Products]] which it branded as MS-DOS, although IBM rebranded it to [[IBM PC DOS]]. Microsoft retained ownership of MS-DOS following the release of the IBM PC in August 1981. IBM had copyrighted the IBM PC [[BIOS]], so other companies had to reverse engineer it for non-IBM hardware to run as [[IBM PC compatible]]s, but no such restriction applied to the operating systems. Microsoft eventually became the leading PC operating systems vendor.<ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine =Smart Computing  |volume=6 |issue=3 |url=http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/archive/r0603/09r03/09r03.asp&guid= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405051349/http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fr0603%2F09r03%2F09r03.asp&guid= |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 5, 2004 |title=Microsoft to Microsoft disk operating system (MS-DOS) |date=March 2002 |access-date=August 18, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blaxill |first1=Mark |last2=Eckardt |first2=Ralph |title=The Invisible Edge: Taking Your Strategy to the Next Level Using Intellectual Property |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JO6kA0hebJIC&pg=PA210 |year=2009 |publisher=Portfolio |isbn=978-1-59184-237-8 |page=210 |access-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323120014/https://books.google.com/books?id=JO6kA0hebJIC&pg=PA210 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|210|date=November 2012}} The company expanded into new markets with the release of the [[Microsoft Mouse]] in 1983, as well as with a publishing division named [[Microsoft Press]].<ref name="Allan 2001" />{{Rp|232|date=November 2012}}
Paul Allen resigned from Microsoft in 1983 after developing [[Hodgkin's lymphoma]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2014643290_paulallen31.html |title=Paul Allen goes public with hard feelings toward Gates |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104003653/http://old.seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2014643290_paulallen31.html |archive-date=November 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Allen claimed in ''Idea Man: A Memoir by the co-founder of Microsoft'' that Gates wanted to dilute his share in the company when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease because he did not think that he was working hard enough.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703806304576232051635476200 |title=Microsoft Co-Founder Hits Out at Gates |last1=Wingfield |first1=Nick |last2=Guth |first2=Robert A. |date=March 30, 2011 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> Allen later invested in [[Low technology|low-tech]] sectors, sports teams, commercial real estate, neuroscience, private space flight, and more.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/01/31/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-microsoft-billionaire-paul-allen-seattle-seahawks-owner/#48d64a5f6db1 |title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Microsoft Billionaire Paul Allen, Seattle Seahawks Owner |last=O'Connor |first=Clare |work=Forbes |access-date=February 1, 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202013548/https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/01/31/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-microsoft-billionaire-paul-allen-seattle-seahawks-owner/#48d64a5f6db1 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===1985–1994: Windows and Office===
[[File:Microsoft Windows 1.0 pages2 3.jpg|thumb|[[Windows 1.0]] was released on November 20, 1985, as the first version of the Windows line.]]
Microsoft released [[Windows 1.0]] on November 20, 1985, as a graphical extension for [[MS-DOS]],<ref name="Allan 2001" />{{Rp|242–243, 246|date=November 2012}} despite having begun jointly developing [[OS/2]] with IBM that August.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pages.prodigy.net/michaln/history/pr/87apr_m3592.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410013835/http://pages.prodigy.net/michaln/history/pr/87apr_m3592.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2010 |title=Microsoft OS/2 Announcement |date=April 10, 2010 |access-date=August 9, 2017}}</ref> Microsoft moved its headquarters from Bellevue to [[Redmond, Washington]], on February 26, 1986, and went public with an [[initial public offering]] (IPO) at the NASDAQ exchange on March 13,<ref name="CBSCHRON">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/06/16/in_depth_business/timeline1720211.shtml |title=Microsoft Chronology |work=CBS News |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=August 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081105185844/http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2006/06/16/in_depth_business/timeline1720211.shtml |archive-date=November 5, 2008}}</ref> with the resulting rise in stock making an estimated four billionaires and 12,000&nbsp;millionaires from Microsoft employees.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/business/yourmoney/29millionaire.html?ex=1275019200&en=de3d71cbbb7e06f8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss |title=The Microsoft Millionaires Come of Age |last=Bick |first=Julie |date=May 29, 2005 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 3, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412145540/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/business/yourmoney/29millionaire.html?ex=1275019200&en=de3d71cbbb7e06f8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss |archive-date=April 12, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft released its version of OS/2 to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on April 2, 1987.<ref name="Allan 2001" /> In 1990, the Federal Trade Commission examined Microsoft for possible collusion due to the partnership with IBM, marking the beginning of more than a decade of legal clashes with the government.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2002/11/u-s-v-microsoft-timeline/ |title=U.S. v. Microsoft: Timeline |date=November 4, 2002 |magazine=Wired  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419063415/http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2002/11/35212 |archive-date=April 19, 2010 |url-status=live |access-date=July 17, 2010}}</ref> {{Rp|243–244|date=November 2012}} Meanwhile, the company was at work on Microsoft [[Windows NT]], which was heavily based on their copy of the OS/2 code. It shipped on July 21, 1993, with a new modular [[Kernel (operating system)|kernel]] and the [[32-bit computing|32-bit]] [[Windows API#Major versions|Win32 application programming interface]] (API), making it easier to port from [[16-bit computing|16-bit]] (MS-DOS-based) Windows. Microsoft informed IBM of Windows NT, and the OS/2 partnership deteriorated.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winserver2k3_gold1.asp |title=Windows Server 2003: The Road To Gold |last=Thurrott |first=Paul |work=winsupersite.com |publisher=Penton Media |date=January 24, 2003 |access-date=July 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604082534/http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winserver2k3_gold1.asp |archive-date=June 4, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1990, Microsoft introduced the [[Microsoft Office]] suite which bundled separate applications such as [[Microsoft Word]] and [[Microsoft Excel]].<ref name="Allan 2001" />{{Rp|301|date=November 2012}} On May 22, Microsoft launched [[Windows 3.0]], featuring streamlined user interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the [[i386|Intel 386]] processor,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.itproportal.com/2010/05/22/microsoft-windows-30-20-years-today/ |title=Microsoft Windows 3.0 Is 20 Years Old Today!!! |work=ITProPortal |last=Athow |first=Desire |date=May 22, 2010 |access-date=April 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325093045/http://www.itproportal.com/2010/05/22/microsoft-windows-30-20-years-today/ |archive-date=March 25, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> and both Office and Windows became dominant in their respective areas.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1159610,00.asp |title=OS Market Share 1993–2001 – Windows 98 Put to the Test |magazine=[[PC Magazine]] |publisher=Ziff Davis |date=August 1, 1998 |access-date=July 3, 2010 |first=Michael |last=Miller |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511141923/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1159610,00.asp |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/18462/a_peek_at_office_upgrade.html |title=A Peek at Office Upgrade |magazine=[[PC World]] |publisher=[[IDG]] |date=September 13, 2000 |last=McCracken |first=Harry |access-date=July 4, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506065942/http://www.pcworld.com/article/18462/a_peek_at_office_upgrade.html |archive-date=May 6, 2009 }}</ref>

On July 27, 1994, the [[United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division|Department of Justice's Antitrust Division]] filed a competitive impact statement that said: "Beginning in 1988 and continuing until July 15, 1994, Microsoft induced many [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEMs]] to execute anti-competitive per processor licenses. Under a per-processor license, an OEM pays Microsoft a royalty for each computer it sells containing a particular microprocessor, whether the OEM sells the computer with a Microsoft operating system or a non-Microsoft operating system. In effect, the royalty payment to Microsoft when no Microsoft product is being used acts as a penalty, or tax, on the OEM's use of a competing PC operating system. Since 1988, Microsoft's use of per processor licenses has increased."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f0000/0045.htm |title=Competitive Impact Statement : U.S. v. Microsoft Corporation |publisher=Justice.gov |access-date=May 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510012902/http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f0000/0045.htm |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===1995–2007: Foray into the Web, Windows 95, Windows XP, and Xbox===
[[File:300lx.jpg|thumb|left|In 1996, Microsoft released [[Windows Embedded Compact#History|Windows CE]], a version of the operating system meant for personal digital assistants and other tiny computers, shown here on the [[HP 300LX]].]]
Following Bill Gates's internal "Internet Tidal Wave memo" on May 26, 1995, Microsoft began to redefine its offerings and expand its product line into [[computer network]]ing and the [[World Wide Web]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/2009-1032-995681.html |title=Victor: Software empire pays high price |last=Borland |first=John |date=April 15, 2003 |work=[[CNET]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116150815/http://news.cnet.com/2009-1032-995681.html |archive-date=November 16, 2011 |access-date=July 16, 2010}}</ref> With a few exceptions of new companies, like [[Netscape]], Microsoft was the only major and established company that acted fast enough to be a part of the World Wide Web practically from the start. Other companies like [[Borland]], [[WordPerfect]], [[Novell]], [[IBM]] and [[Lotus Software|Lotus]], being much slower to adapt to the new situation, would give Microsoft market dominance.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qiDsEgYKXRAC&q=Bill+Gates+1994+Internet+blow+over+Netscape+Borland+WordPerfect+Novell+IBM+Lotus&pg=PA11 |title=Network Security Foundations: Technology Fundamentals for IT Success |access-date=March 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323120021/https://books.google.no/books?id=qiDsEgYKXRAC&pg=PA11&dq=Bill+Gates+1994+Internet+blow+over+Netscape+Borland+WordPerfect+Novell+IBM+Lotus&hl=no&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjliaaH-IbhAhVHw4sKHRIlCnkQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=Bill%20Gates%201994%20Internet%20blow%20over%20Netscape%20Borland%20WordPerfect%20Novell%20IBM%20Lotus&f=false |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |url-status=live |isbn=9780782151367 |last1=Strebe |first1=Matthew |date=February 20, 2006|publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref>

The company released [[Windows 95]] on August 24, 1995, featuring [[Preemption (computing)#PREEMPTIVE|pre-emptive multitasking]], a completely new user interface with a novel [[Start menu|start button]], and 32-bit compatibility; similar to NT, it provided the Win32 API.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Smart Computing |publisher=Sandhills Publishing Company |volume=4 |issue=3 |url=http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/archive/95win/95win02/95win02.asp&guid= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040706233547/http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2F95win%2F95win02%2F95win02.asp&guid= |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 6, 2004 |title=New And Improved |last=Cope |first=Jim |date=March 1996 |access-date=July 16, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/windows95systemp00matt |title=Windows 95 Programming Secrets |last=Pietrek |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Pietrek |publisher=IDG |isbn=978-1-56884-318-6 |date=March 1996 |access-date=July 17, 2010 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Rp|20|date=November 2012}} Windows 95 came bundled with the [[Online service provider|online service]] [[MSN]], which was intended to be a competitor to services such as [[CompuServe]] and [[AOL]]. The [[web browser]] Internet Explorer was not bundled with the retail release of Windows 95, and was instead included in the later [[Microsoft Plus!#Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95|Microsoft Plus!]] pack, as well as OEM releases of Windows 95.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://winsupersite.com/windows-live/msn-inside-story |title=MSN: The Inside Story |work=Supersite for Windows |last=Thurrott |first=Paul |publisher=[[Penton (company)|Penton Media]] |date=May 19, 2005 |access-date=July 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523202530/http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/msn_inside_01.asp |archive-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref> Backed by a high-profile marketing campaign<ref>Edwards, Benj (August 24, 2020).[https://www.howtogeek.com/685668/windows-95-turns-25-heres-how-it-transformed-pcs/ "Windows 95 Turns 25: When Windows Went Mainstream."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105020917/https://www.howtogeek.com/685668/windows-95-turns-25-heres-how-it-transformed-pcs/|date=January 5, 2021}} ''How To Geek''. Retrieved November 29, 2020.</ref> and what ''[[The New York Times]]'' called "the splashiest, most frenzied, most expensive introduction of a computer product in the industry's history,"<ref>Chew, Jonathan (August 24, 2015). [https://fortune.com/2015/08/24/20-years-microsoft-windows-95/ "Microsoft Launched This Product 20 Years Ago and Changed the World"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021131927/https://fortune.com/2015/08/24/20-years-microsoft-windows-95/ |date=October 21, 2020 }} ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]''. Retrieved November 29, 2020.</ref> Windows 95 quickly became a success.<ref>Wild, Chris (August 24, 2015).[https://mashable.com/2015/08/24/windows-95-launch/?europe=true "Aug. 24, 1995: Launching Windows 95."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127173449/https://mashable.com/2015/08/24/windows-95-launch/?europe=true |date=November 27, 2020 }} ''[[Mashable]]''. Retrieved November 29, 2020.</ref> Branching out into new markets in 1996, Microsoft and [[General Electric]]'s [[NBC]] unit created a new [[24/7 service|24/7]] cable news channel, [[MSNBC]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/1996/07/15_mpp.html |title=Marketplace: News Archives |work=Marketplace |publisher=American Public Media |date=July 15, 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823174040/http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/1996/07/15_mpp.html |archive-date=August 23, 2004}}</ref> Microsoft created [[Windows Embedded Compact#Versions|Windows CE 1.0]], a new OS designed for devices with low memory and other constraints, such as [[personal digital assistant]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/windowsce/ |last=Tilly |first=Chris |title=The History of Microsoft Windows CE |work=HPC:Factor |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921144050/http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/windowsce/ |archive-date=September 21, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> In October 1997, the Justice Department filed a motion in the Federal [[United States district court|District Court]], stating that Microsoft violated an agreement signed in 1994 and asked the court to stop the bundling of [[Internet Explorer]] with Windows.<ref name="Allan 2001" />{{Rp|323–324|date=November 2012}}
[[File:Microsoft IntelliMouse 2001.jpg|thumb|200x200px|While primarily focused on software, Microsoft also produced a number of successful PC accessories, such as the [[IntelliMouse]] computer mice shown here.]]
[[File:Xbox-console.jpg|thumb|Microsoft released the first installment in the [[Xbox]] series of consoles in 2001. The [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], graphically powerful compared to its rivals, featured a standard PC's 733&nbsp;MHz Intel Pentium III processor.]]
On January 13, 2000, Bill Gates handed over the CEO position to [[Steve Ballmer]], an old college friend of Gates and employee of the company since 1980, while creating a new position for himself as Chief [[Software architect|Software Architect]].<ref name="Allan 2001" />{{Rp|111, 228|date=November 2012}}<ref name="BBCTL" /> Various companies including Microsoft formed the [[Trusted Computing Group|Trusted Computing Platform Alliance]] in October 1999 to (among other things) increase security and protect [[intellectual property]] through identifying changes in hardware and software. Critics decried the alliance as a way to enforce indiscriminate restrictions over how consumers use software, and over how computers behave, and as a form of [[digital rights management]]: for example, the scenario where a computer is not only secured for its owner but also secured against its owner as well.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/20/technology/20CODE.html?pagewanted=1 |title=Fears of Misuse of Encryption System Are Voiced |work=[[The New York Times]] |last=Markoff |first=John |date=June 20, 2002 |access-date=July 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511201709/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/20/technology/20CODE.html?pagewanted=1 |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~fms27/papers/2003-stajano-shifting.pdf |last=Stajano |first=Frank |chapter=Security for Whom? The Shifting Security Assumptions of Pervasive Computing |title=Software Security — Theories and Systems |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science  |volume=2609 |pages=16–27 |publisher=Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg |year=2003 |access-date=July 6, 2010 |doi=10.1007/3-540-36532-X_2 |isbn=978-3-540-00708-1 |citeseerx=10.1.1.127.7219 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128164236/http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~fms27/papers/2003-stajano-shifting.pdf |archive-date=January 28, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> On April 3, 2000, a judgment was handed down in the case of ''[[United States v. Microsoft Corp.]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States v. Microsoft |url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/ms_index.htm |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |access-date=August 5, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050804043753/http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/ms_index.htm |archive-date=August 4, 2005 |url-status=live}}</ref> calling the company an "abusive monopoly".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Thomas Penfield |url=https://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f3800/msjudgex.htm |title=U.S. vs. Microsoft findings of fact |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |date=November 5, 1999 |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815034900/http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f3800/msjudgex.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft later settled with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2004.<ref name="CBSCHRON" />

On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released [[Windows XP]], unifying the mainstream and NT lines of OS under the NT codebase.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/windows-xp2/wininfo-short-takes-windows-xp-launch-special-edition.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526200156/http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/windows-xp2/wininfo-short-takes-windows-xp-launch-special-edition.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 26, 2012 |title=WinInfo Short Takes: Windows XP Launch Special Edition |last=Thurrott |first=Paul |work=Windows IT Pro |publisher=Penton Media |date=October 26, 2001 |access-date=July 16, 2010}}</ref> The company released the [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] later that year, entering the [[video game console]] market dominated by [[Sony]] and [[Nintendo]].<ref>{{Cite press release |date=February 7, 2002 |title=NPD Reports Annual 2001 U.S. Interactive Entertainment Sales Shatter Industry Record |url=http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_020207.htm |location=[[Port Washington, New York]] |publisher=[[The NPD Group]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040814133238/http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_020207.htm |archive-date=August 14, 2004 |access-date=January 28, 2015}}</ref> In March 2004 the [[European Union]] brought [[Microsoft Corp. v. Commission|antitrust legal action against the company]], citing it abused its dominance with the Windows OS, resulting in a judgment of €497&nbsp;million ($613&nbsp;million) and requiring Microsoft to produce new versions of Windows XP without [[Windows Media Player]]: Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional N.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/03/24/microsoft.eu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060413082435/http://www.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/03/24/microsoft.eu |archive-date=April 13, 2006 |title=Microsoft hit by record EU fine |work=CNN |date=March 25, 2004 |access-date=August 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Commission Decision of 24.03.2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 82 of the EC Treaty (Case COMP/C-3/37.792 Microsoft) |publisher=Commission of the European Communities |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62004A0201:EN:NOT |date=April 21, 2004 |access-date=August 5, 2005 |format=PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011131514/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62004A0201:EN:NOT |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2005, the company's second video game console, the [[Xbox 360]], was released. There were two versions, a basic version for $299.99 and a deluxe version for $399.99.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2005/08/17/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm |title=Microsoft sets price for Xbox 360—Aug. 17, 2005 |last=Morris |first=Game Over is a weekly column by Chris |website=money.cnn.com |access-date=January 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425204850/http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/17/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm |archive-date=April 25, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Increasingly present in the hardware business following Xbox, Microsoft 2006 released the [[Zune]] series of digital media players, a successor of its previous software platform [[Portable Media Center]]. These expanded on previous hardware commitments from Microsoft following its original [[Microsoft Mouse]] in 1983; as of 2007 the company sold the best-selling wired keyboard ([[Microsoft ergonomic keyboards|Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000]]), mouse ([[IntelliMouse]]), and desktop webcam ([[LifeCam]]) in the United States. That year the company also launched the Surface "digital table", later renamed [[Microsoft PixelSense|PixelSense]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.microsoft.com/2007/08/22/a-microsoft-milestone-hardware-celebrates-25-years-of-proven-success/|title=A Microsoft Milestone: Hardware Celebrates 25 Years of Proven Success|date=August 22, 2007|website=Stories}}</ref>

===2007–2011: Microsoft Azure, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Microsoft Stores===
[[File:Steve Ballmer - MIX 2008.jpg|thumb|left|CEO [[Steve Ballmer]] at the [[MIX (Microsoft)|MIX]] event in 2008. In an interview about his management style in 2005, he mentioned that his first priority was to get the people he delegates to in order. Ballmer also emphasized the need to continue pursuing new technologies even if initial attempts fail, citing the original attempts with Windows as an example.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Steve Ballmer on management style |url=http://www.itworld.com/051109ballmerinterview |work=ITWorld |agency=CIO Asia |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]] |date=November 10, 2005 |first=Gerald |last=Wee |access-date=January 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514145636/http://www.itworld.com/051109ballmerinterview |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Schuman - Berlaymont - 01.jpg|thumb|Headquarters of the [[European Commission]], which has imposed several fines on Microsoft]]
Released in January 2007, the next version of Windows, [[Windows Vista|Vista]], focused on features, security and a redesigned user interface dubbed [[Windows Aero|Aero]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://reviews.cnet.com/windows/windows-vista-ultimate/4505-3672_7-32013603.html |title=Windows Vista Ultimate review |date=January 23, 2007 |access-date=April 4, 2012 |last=Vamosi |first=Robert |work=[[CNET]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406015257/http://reviews.cnet.com/windows/windows-vista-ultimate/4505-3672_7-32013603.html |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.informationweek.com/gates-says-security-is-job-one-for-vista-/d/d-id/1040561 |title=Gates Says Security Is Job One For Vista |date=February 14, 2006 |access-date=April 4, 2012 |last=Ricadela |first=Aaron |work=[[InformationWeek]] |publisher=UBM TechWeb |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318064254/http://informationweek.com/news/180201580 |archive-date=March 18, 2012 }}</ref> [[Microsoft Office 2007]], released at the same time, featured a "[[Ribbon (computing)|Ribbon]]" user interface which was a significant departure from its predecessors. Relatively strong sales of both products helped to produce a record profit in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/vista-gives-microsoft-view-of-record-profit-1-1316524 |title=Vista gives Microsoft view of record profit |work=Edinburgh Evening News |date=April 27, 2007 |publisher=[[Johnston Press]] |access-date=February 1, 2009 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804053508/https://www.scotsman.com/business/vista-gives-microsoft-view-record-profit-2512476 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The European Union imposed another fine of €899&nbsp;million ($1.4&nbsp;billion) for Microsoft's lack of compliance with the March 2004 judgment on February 27, 2008, saying that the company charged rivals unreasonable prices for key information about its [[Microsoft SQL Server|workgroup]] and [[Microsoft BackOffice Server|backoffice]] servers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCormick |first=John |title=European Union Politics |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-230-57707-7 |location=New York |pages=340 |language=en}}</ref> Microsoft stated that it was in compliance and that "these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved".<ref>{{Cite news |title=AFP:EU hits Microsoft with record 899&nbsp;million euro antitrust fine |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iozBXlp2nzuVxnMx_SwmtKvi7C-w |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |work=[[Google News]] |date=February 27, 2008 |access-date=June 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430164250/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iozBXlp2nzuVxnMx_SwmtKvi7C-w |archive-date=April 30, 2008}}</ref> 2007 also saw the creation of a multi-core unit at Microsoft, following the steps of server companies such as Sun and IBM.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.serverwatch.com/trends/article.php/3657451/Microsoft-Multicore-and-the-Data-Center.htm |title=Microsoft, Multi-core and the Data Center |access-date=March 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406115001/http://www.serverwatch.com/trends/article.php/3657451/Microsoft-Multicore-and-the-Data-Center.htm |archive-date=April 6, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates retired from his role as Chief Software Architect on June 27, 2008, a decision announced in June 2006, while retaining other positions related to the company in addition to being an advisor for the company on key projects.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1977363,00.asp |title=Bill Gates Announces Resignation |author-link=Natali Morris |last=Conte |first=Natali Del |magazine=[[PC Magazine]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |date=June 15, 2006 |access-date=July 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420070747/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1977363,00.asp |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3357698/Bill-Gates-steps-down-as-Microsoft-head-to-concentrate-on-philanthropy.html |title=Bill Gates steps down as Microsoft head to concentrate on philanthropy |last=Beaumont |first=Claudine |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=June 27, 2008 |access-date=January 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313023003/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3357698/Bill-Gates-steps-down-as-Microsoft-head-to-concentrate-on-philanthropy.html |archive-date=March 13, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Microsoft Azure|Azure Services Platform]], the company's entry into the [[cloud computing]] market for Windows, launched on October 27, 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/microsoft-launches-windows-azure/ |title=Microsoft launches Windows Azure |work=CNET |publisher=CBS Interactive |first=Ina |last=Fried |author-link=Ina Fried |date=October 27, 2008 |access-date=July 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510020425/http://news.cnet.com/microsoft-launches-windows-azure/ |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> On February 12, 2009, Microsoft announced its intent to open a chain of Microsoft-branded retail stores, and on October 22, 2009, the first retail [[Microsoft Store (retail)|Microsoft Store]] opened in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]]; the same day [[Windows 7]] was officially released to the public. Windows 7's focus was on refining Vista with ease-of-use features and performance enhancements, rather than an extensive reworking of Windows.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10163206-56.html |title=Microsoft follows Apple into the retail business |work=CNET |publisher=CBS Interactive |first=Ina |last=Fried |author-link=Ina Fried |date=February 12, 2009 |access-date=July 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510020436/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10163206-56.html |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-store-idUSTRE59L5E220091022 |title=Long lines as Microsoft opens retail store |work=[[Reuters]] |publisher=[[Thomson Reuters]] |last=Gaynor |first=Tim |date=October 22, 2009 |access-date=July 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204102408/http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/10/22/us-microsoft-store-idUSTRE59L5E220091022 |archive-date=February 4, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna33429899 |title=Windows 7 operating system makes its debut |work=[[NBCNews.com]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |agency=Associated Press |last=Mintz |first=Jessica |date=October 22, 2009 |access-date=April 4, 2012}}</ref>

As the smartphone industry boomed in the late 2000s, Microsoft had struggled to keep up with its rivals in providing a modern smartphone operating system, falling behind [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] and [[Google]]-sponsored [[Android (operating system)|Android]] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/10/11/technology/windows_phone_7/index.htm|title=Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 7 partners – Oct. 11, 2010|website=money.cnn.com}}</ref> As a result, in 2010 Microsoft revamped its aging flagship mobile operating system, [[Windows Mobile]], replacing it with the new [[Windows Phone]] OS that was released in October that year.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lecrenski |first1=Nick |title=Beginning Windows Phone 7 Application Development: Building Windows Phone Applications Using Silverlight and XNA |last2=Watson |first2=Karli |last3=Fonseca-Ensor |first3=Robert |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-470-91233-1 |location=Hoboken, NJ |pages=4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Helal |first1=Abdelsalam A. |title=Mobile Platforms and Development Environments |last2=Helal |first2=Sumi |last3=Bose |first3=Raja |last4=Li |first4=Wendong |publisher=Morgan & Claypool Publishers |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-60845-866-0 |pages=33 |language=en}}</ref> It used a new user interface design language, codenamed "Metro", which prominently used simple shapes, typography, and iconography, utilizing the concept of minimalism. Microsoft implemented a new strategy for the software industry, providing a consistent user experience across all smartphones using the Windows Phone OS. It launched an alliance with [[Nokia]] in 2011 and Microsoft worked closely with the company to co-develop Windows Phone,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marketingweek.com/nokia-to-partner-with-microsoft-under-new-structure/|title=Nokia to partner with Microsoft under new structure|first=Rosie|last=Baker|date=February 11, 2011}}</ref> but remained partners with long-time Windows Mobile [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] [[HTC]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/9/19/3356676/htc-microsoft-windows-phone-8-marketing-partnership|title=HTC rekindles its old Microsoft romance and bets on Windows Phone 8|first=Tom|last=Warren|date=September 19, 2012|website=The Verge}}</ref> Microsoft is a founding member of the [[Open Networking Foundation]] started on March 23, 2011. Fellow founders were [[Google]], [[HPE Networking]], [[Yahoo!]], [[Verizon#History|Verizon Communications]], [[Deutsche Telekom]] and 17 other companies. This nonprofit organization is focused on providing support for a [[cloud computing]] initiative called Software-Defined Networking.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.openflow.org/wp/2011/03/open-networking-foundation-formed-to-speed-network-innovation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326044008/http://www.openflow.org/wp/2011/03/open-networking-foundation-formed-to-speed-network-innovation/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 26, 2011 |title=Open Networking Foundation News Release |first=David |last=Erickson |work=Openflow.org |date=March 21, 2011 |access-date=May 29, 2011}}</ref> The initiative is meant to speed innovation through simple software changes in telecommunications networks, wireless networks, data centers, and other networking areas.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/380663/google_other_titans_form_open_networking_foundation/?fp=4&fpid=78268965 |title="Google and other titans form Open Networking Foundation." Noyes, March 23, 2011 |work=[[Computerworld]] |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]] |date=March 23, 2011 |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406121956/http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/380663/google_other_titans_form_open_networking_foundation/?fp=4&fpid=78268965 |archive-date=April 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===2011–2014: Windows 8/8.1, Xbox One, Outlook.com, and Surface devices===
[[File:SurfacePro3.JPG|thumb|[[Surface Pro 3]], part of the [[Microsoft Surface|Surface]] series of [[2-in-1 laptop]]s by Microsoft]]
Following the release of [[Windows Phone]], Microsoft undertook a gradual [[rebranding]] of its product range throughout 2011 and 2012, with the corporation's logos, products, services, and websites adopting the principles and concepts of the [[Metro (design language)|Metro design language]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2010/03/18/windows-phone-7-series-ui-design-amp-interaction-guide.aspx |title=Windows Phone 7 Series UI Design & Interaction Guide |access-date=October 9, 2010 |date=March 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527071856/http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2010/03/18/windows-phone-7-series-ui-design-amp-interaction-guide.aspx |archive-date=May 27, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft unveiled [[Windows 8]], an operating system designed to power both personal computers and [[tablet computer]]s, in Taipei in June 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article3479381.ece |title=Microsoft releases final test version of Windows 8 |work=[[Business Line]] |publisher=Kasturi & Sons |date=June 1, 2012 |access-date=August 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828170727/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article3479381.ece |archive-date=August 28, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> A developer preview was released on September 13, which was subsequently replaced by a consumer preview on February 29, 2012, and released to the public in May.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/05/businessinsider-microsoft-spills-beans-on--at-ces-2011-1.DTL |title=OK, So Windows 8 Is Coming To ARM Tablets&nbsp;... Someday (MSFT) |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |first=Matt |last=Rosoff |date=January 5, 2011 |access-date=January 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629064811/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fg%2Fa%2F2011%2F01%2F05%2Fbusinessinsider-microsoft-spills-beans-on--at-ces-2011-1.DTL |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Microsoft Surface|Surface]] was unveiled on June 18, becoming the first computer in the company's history to have its hardware made by Microsoft.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Sullivan |first=Mark |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/257840/microsoft_announces_new_surface_tablet_pc.html |title=Microsoft Announces New 'Surface' Tablet PC |magazine=PCWorld |date=June 18, 2012 |access-date=June 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208230356/http://www.pcworld.com/article/257840/microsoft_announces_new_surface_tablet_pc.html |archive-date=February 8, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="VF2012">Eichenwald, Kurt, [https://vanityfair.com/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer "Microsoft's Lost Decade: How Microsoft Lost Its Mojo"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816012416/http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2012/08/microsoft-lost-mojo-steve-ballmer |date=August 16, 2013}}, ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', August 2012</ref> On June 25, Microsoft paid US$1.2&nbsp;billion to buy the social network [[Viva Engage#History|Yammer]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft buys Internet startup Yammer for $1.2 billion |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-06-25/microsoft-yammer-aquisition/55811172/1 |work=[[USA Today]]  |first=Byron |last=Acohido |date=June 25, 2012 |access-date=June 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626105139/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-06-25/microsoft-yammer-aquisition/55811172/1 |archive-date=June 26, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> On July 31, it launched the [[Outlook.com]] [[Webmail|webmail service]] to compete with [[Gmail]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thurrott|first=Paul|date=July 31, 2012|title=Outlook.com Mail: Microsoft Reimagines Webmail|url=http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-live/outlookcom-mail-microsoft-reimagines-webmail-143877|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803011439/http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-live/outlookcom-mail-microsoft-reimagines-webmail-143877|archive-date=August 3, 2012|access-date=August 1, 2012|work=Supersite for Windows|publisher=[[Penton (company)|Penton Media]]}}</ref> On September 4, 2012, Microsoft released [[Windows Server 2012]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/new.aspx |title=Windows Server 2012 "Save the Date" Announcement |date=August 8, 2012 |publisher=Microsoft |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107032736/http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/new.aspx |archive-date=November 7, 2013}}</ref>

In July 2012, Microsoft sold its 50% stake in MSNBC, which it had run as a joint venture with NBC since 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Venkatesan |first1=Adithya |last2=Mukherjee |first2=Supantha |last3=Leske |first3=Nicola |title=Comcast buys Microsoft stake in MSNBC.com |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-msnbc-microsoft-idUSBRE86F04W20120716 |access-date=February 13, 2015 |work=Reuters |date=July 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213235010/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/16/us-msnbc-microsoft-idUSBRE86F04W20120716 |archive-date=February 13, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> On October 1, 2012, Microsoft announced its intention to launch a news operation, part of a new-look [[MSN]], with Windows 8 later in the month.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-msn-idUSBRE8900WN20121001 |title=Microsoft launching news operation, new MSN |work=Reuters |access-date=October 1, 2012 |first=Bill |last=Rigby |date=October 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002064137/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/01/us-microsoft-msn-idUSBRE8900WN20121001 |archive-date=October 2, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> On October 26, 2012, Microsoft launched Windows 8 and the [[Microsoft Surface]].<ref name="VF2012" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-8s-delivery-date-october-26/ |title=Windows 8's delivery date: October 26 |newspaper=ZDNet |date=July 18, 2012 |access-date=September 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919182044/http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8s-delivery-date-october-26-7000001158/ |archive-date=September 19, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Three days later, [[Windows Phone 8]] was launched.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.liveside.net/2012/08/30/mary-jo-foley-windows-phone-8-launch-dates-revealed/ |title=Mary Jo Foley: Windows Phone 8 launch date revealed |work=LiveSide Archive |publisher=LiveSide.net |date=August 30, 2012 |access-date=November 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103151119/http://www.liveside.net/2012/08/30/mary-jo-foley-windows-phone-8-launch-dates-revealed/ |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wpcentral.com/microsoft-prepping-everything-complete-brand-and-product-relaunch |title=Microsoft prepping for complete brand and product line relaunch, New York store coming the 26th |publisher=wpcentral.com |access-date=November 3, 2012 |date=October 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102010038/http://www.wpcentral.com/microsoft-prepping-everything-complete-brand-and-product-relaunch |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> On March 29, 2013, Microsoft launched a Patent Tracker.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/03/28/microsoft-launches-patent-tracker-to-help-you-search-its-library-of-intellectual-property/ |title=Microsoft launches 'Patent Tracker' to help you search its library of intellectual property |work=The Next Web |date=March 28, 2013 |access-date=March 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331031250/http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/03/28/microsoft-launches-patent-tracker-to-help-you-search-its-library-of-intellectual-property/ |archive-date=March 31, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2012, the [[New York City Police Department]] announced a partnership with Microsoft for the development of the [[Domain Awareness System]] which is used for [[police surveillance in New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-unveils-new-40-million-super-computer-system-data-network-cameras-license-plate-readers-crime-reports-article-1.1132135 |title=NYPD unveils new $40 million supercomputer system that uses data from a network of cameras, license plate readers and crime reports |last1=Parascandola|first1=Rocco|last2=Moore|first2=Tina |website=New York Daily News |date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=June 15, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Xbox One Console Set.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Xbox One]] console, released in 2013]]
The [[Kinect]], a motion-sensing input device made by Microsoft and designed as a [[Game controller|video game controller]], first introduced in November 2010, was upgraded for the 2013 release of the [[Xbox One]] video game console. Kinect's capabilities were revealed in May 2013: an ultra-wide 1080p camera, function in the dark due to an infrared sensor, higher-end processing power and new software, the ability to distinguish between fine movements (such as a thumb movement), and determining a user's heart rate by looking at their face.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The all-seeing Kinect: tracking my face, arms, body, and heart on the Xbox One |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4353232/kinect-xbox-one-hands-on/in/4116279 |work=The Verge |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |access-date=May 28, 2013 |first=David |last=Pierce |date=May 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607054123/http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4353232/kinect-xbox-one-hands-on/in/4116279 |archive-date=June 7, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft filed a patent application in 2011 that suggests that the corporation may use the Kinect camera system to monitor the behavior of television viewers as part of a plan to make the viewing experience more interactive.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Yirka |first1=Bob |last2=Phys.org |title=Microsoft applies for patent on technology to count users watching streamed content |url=https://phys.org/news/2012-11-microsoft-patent-technology-users-streamed.html |access-date=May 1, 2024 |website=phys.org |language=en}}</ref> On July 19, 2013, Microsoft stocks suffered its biggest one-day percentage sell-off since the year 2000, after its fourth-quarter report raised concerns among investors on the poor showings of both Windows 8 and the Surface tablet. Microsoft suffered a loss of more than US$32&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57594612-75/funky-friday-more-than-$32-billion-in-microsoft-stock-value-wiped-out/ |title=Funky Friday: More than $32 billion in Microsoft stock value wiped out &#124; Microsoft—CNET News |publisher=News.cnet.com |access-date=July 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822073858/http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57594612-75/funky-friday-more-than-$32-billion-in-microsoft-stock-value-wiped-out/ |archive-date=August 22, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In line with the maturing PC business, in July 2013, Microsoft announced that it would reorganize into four new business divisions: Operating Systems, Apps, Cloud, and Devices. All previous divisions were dissolved into new divisions without any workforce cuts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fiercemobileit.com/story/microsofts-sweeping-reorganization-shifts-focus-services-devices/2013-07-11 |title=Microsoft's sweeping reorganization shifts focus to services, devices |date=July 11, 2013 |access-date=October 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026191536/http://www.fiercemobileit.com/story/microsofts-sweeping-reorganization-shifts-focus-services-devices/2013-07-11 |archive-date=October 26, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> On September 3, 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy [[Nokia]]'s mobile unit for $7&nbsp;billion,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/2/4688530/microsoft-buys-nokias-devices-and-services-unit-unites-windows-phone/in/4453001 |title=Microsoft buying Nokia's phone business in a $7.2 billion bid for its mobile future |date=September 3, 2013 |access-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929192139/https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/2/4688530/microsoft-buys-nokias-devices-and-services-unit-unites-windows-phone/in/4453001 |archive-date=September 29, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> following [[Amy Hood]] taking the role of CFO.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-cfo-idUSBRE94711Q20130508 |title=Microsoft names insider Amy Hood as CFO |agency=Reuters.com |date=May 8, 2013 |access-date=April 18, 2014 |newspaper=Reuters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409123351/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-microsoft-cfo-idUSBRE94711Q20130508 |archive-date=April 9, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

===2014–2020: Windows 10, Microsoft Edge, and HoloLens===
[[File:Satya smiling-print.jpg|thumb|[[Satya Nadella]] succeeded [[Steve Ballmer]] as the [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of Microsoft in February 2014.]]
On February 4, 2014, [[Steve Ballmer]] stepped down as [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of Microsoft and was succeeded by [[Satya Nadella]], who previously led Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise division.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months |url=https://news.microsoft.com/2013/08/23/microsoft-ceo-steve-ballmer-to-retire-within-12-months/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823130816/http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/aug13/08-23AnnouncementPR.aspx |archive-date=August 23, 2013 |date=August 23, 2013}}</ref> On the same day, [[John W. Thompson]] took on the role of chairman, in place of Bill Gates, who continued to participate as a technology advisor.<ref name=chairex>{{Cite web |last1=David |first1=Javier E |title=Nadella named new Microsoft CEO as Gates era ends |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/microsoft-names-satya-nadella-ceo-2D12054182 |website=[[NBCNews.com]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205010025/https://www.nbcnews.com/business/microsoft-names-satya-nadella-ceo-2D12054182 |archive-date=February 5, 2014 |date=February 5, 2014}}</ref> Thompson became the second chairman in Microsoft's history.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theroot.com/john-w-thompson-to-become-1st-black-chairman-of-micros-1790874479 |title=John W. Thompson to Become 1st Black Chairman of Microsoft |last=Edwards |first=Breanna |work=The Root |access-date=February 1, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202012807/https://www.theroot.com/john-w-thompson-to-become-1st-black-chairman-of-micros-1790874479 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> On April 25, 2014, Microsoft acquired Nokia Devices and Services for $7.2&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Microsoft to close its acquisition of Nokia's devices and services business on April 25 |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-04-22/news/49318731_1_nokia-india-nokia-corp-microsoft-corp |newspaper=The Economic Times |access-date=May 25, 2016 |date=April 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805051448/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-04-22/news/49318731_1_nokia-india-nokia-corp-microsoft-corp |archive-date=August 5, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This new subsidiary was renamed Microsoft Mobile Oy.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Borges |first1=Andre |title=Nokia phone division to be renamed Microsoft Mobile, reveals leaked letter |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-nokia-phone-division-to-be-renamed-microsoft-mobile-reveals-leaked-letter-1980628 |publisher=dna |access-date=May 25, 2016 |date=April 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015073328/http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-nokia-phone-division-to-be-renamed-microsoft-mobile-reveals-leaked-letter-1980628 |archive-date=October 15, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> On September 15, 2014, Microsoft acquired the video game development company [[Mojang]], best known for ''[[Minecraft]]'', for $2.5&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Lee |title=It's official: Microsoft acquires Mojang and Minecraft for $2.5 billion |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/09/its-official-microsoft-acquires-mojang-and-minecraft-for-2-5-billion/ |website=Ars Technica |access-date=September 19, 2014 |ref=152 |date=September 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919004256/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/09/its-official-microsoft-acquires-mojang-and-minecraft-for-2-5-billion/ |archive-date=September 19, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> On June 8, 2017, Microsoft acquired [[Hexadite]], an Israeli security firm, for $100&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dellinger |first1=AJ |title=Microsoft Buys Cybersecurity Company Hexadite To Respond To Cyberattacks |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/microsoft-buys-cybersecurity-company-hexadite-respond-cyberattacks-2549768 |website=[[International Business Times]] |date=June 8, 2017 |access-date=June 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608231948/http://www.ibtimes.com/microsoft-buys-cybersecurity-company-hexadite-respond-cyberattacks-2549768 |archive-date=June 8, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Microsoft agrees to buy U.S.-Israeli cyber firm Hexadite |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-m-a-hexadite-idUSKBN18Z1XP |work=Reuters |date=June 8, 2017 |access-date=June 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609043207/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-m-a-hexadite-idUSKBN18Z1XP |archive-date=June 9, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 21, 2015, Microsoft announced the release of its first [[interactive whiteboard]], named [[Surface Hub]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft at MWC 2015: Lumia 640 and 640 XL Announced, 4K 120Hz Surface Hub Demoed |url=http://anandtech.com/show/9030/microsoft-lumia-640-640-xl-4k-120hz-surface-hub |access-date=September 27, 2015 |first1=Ian | last1=Cutress | first2= Andrei |last2=Frumusanu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927230334/http://anandtech.com/show/9030/microsoft-lumia-640-640-xl-4k-120hz-surface-hub |archive-date=September 27, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On July 29, 2015, [[Windows 10]] was released,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Howse |first1=Brett |title=Windows 10 Launches Worldwide |url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/9471/windows-10-launches-worldwide |publisher=AnandTech |access-date=May 25, 2016 |date=July 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624141118/http://www.anandtech.com/show/9471/windows-10-launches-worldwide |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> with its server sibling, [[Windows Server 2016]], released in September 2016. In Q1 2015, Microsoft was the [[List of best-selling mobile phones#Annual sales by manufacturer|third-largest maker of mobile phones]], selling 33&nbsp;million units (7.2% of all). While a large majority (at least <!-- (8271/33002)= -->75%) of them do not run any version of [[Windows Phone]] — those other phones are not categorized as [[smartphone]]s by Gartner{{Snd}}in the same timeframe 8&nbsp;million Windows smartphones (2.5% of all smartphones) were made by all manufacturers (mostly Microsoft).<ref>{{Cite press release |url=http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3061917 |title=Gartner Says Emerging Markets Drove Worldwide Smartphone Sales to 19 Percent Growth in First Quarter of 2015 |publisher=Gartner |date=May 27, 2015 |access-date=July 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614044340/http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3061917 |archive-date=June 14, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Microsoft's share of the U.S. smartphone market in January 2016 was 2.7%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/tech/microsoft-windows-mobile-strategy-change-173738169.html |title=Microsoft needs to change its mobile strategy or get out |last=Howley |first=Daniel |date=May 25, 2016 |website=[[Yahoo! Tech]] |access-date=May 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527025910/https://www.yahoo.com/tech/microsoft-windows-mobile-strategy-change-173738169.html |archive-date=May 27, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the summer of 2015 the company lost $7.6&nbsp;billion related to its mobile-phone business, firing 7,800 employees.<ref name="WSJ: Microsoft to Streamline Smartphone Hardware Business">{{cite news |last1=Greene |first1=Jay |title=Microsoft to Streamline Smartphone Hardware Business |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-to-streamline-smartphone-hardware-business-1464166803 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=May 25, 2016 |date=May 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525095132/http://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-to-streamline-smartphone-hardware-business-1464166803 |archive-date=May 25, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, the construction of a data center in [[Mecklenburg County, Virginia]], led to the destruction of a historic [[African Americans|African American]] cemetery despite archeological recommendations for preservation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wessler |first=Seth Freed |date=December 16, 2022 |title=Developers Found Graves in the Virginia Woods. Authorities Then Helped Erase the Historic Black Cemetery. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/how-authorities-erased-historic-black-cemetery-virginia |access-date=July 6, 2023 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref>

On March 1, 2016, Microsoft announced the merger of its PC and Xbox divisions, with [[Phil Spencer (business executive)|Phil Spencer]] announcing that Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps would be the focus for Microsoft's gaming in the future.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/01/microsoft-to-unify-pc-and-xbox-one-platforms-ending-fixed-console-hardware |title=Microsoft to unify PC and Xbox One platforms, ending fixed console hardware |first=Keith |last=Stuart |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 2016 |access-date=December 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161217085439/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/01/microsoft-to-unify-pc-and-xbox-one-platforms-ending-fixed-console-hardware |archive-date=December 17, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> On January 24, 2017, Microsoft showcased Intune for Education at the [[BETT]] 2017 education technology conference in [[London]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mehdi |first1=Yusuf |title=Announcing Intune for Education & new Windows 10 PCs for school starting at $189 |url=https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/01/24/announcing-intune-education-new-windows-10-pcs-school-starting-189/#bdsoyDTQ4EQqK1Lg.97 |website=The Official Microsoft Blog |access-date=January 25, 2017 |date=January 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125192422/https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/01/24/announcing-intune-education-new-windows-10-pcs-school-starting-189/#bdsoyDTQ4EQqK1Lg.97 |archive-date=January 25, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Intune for Education is a new cloud-based application and device management service for the education sector.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/24/microsoft-launches-intune-for-education-to-counter-googles-chromebooks-in-schools/ |title=Microsoft launches Intune for Education to counter Google's Chromebooks in schools |work=TechCrunch |author=Frederic Lardinois |date=January 24, 2017 |access-date=January 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125065925/https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/24/microsoft-launches-intune-for-education-to-counter-googles-chromebooks-in-schools/ |archive-date=January 25, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2016, the company announced it was laying off 1,850 workers, and taking an impairment and restructuring charge of $950&nbsp;million.<ref name="WSJ: Microsoft to Streamline Smartphone Hardware Business" />

In June 2016, Microsoft announced a project named Microsoft Azure Information Protection. It aims to help enterprises protect their data as it moves between servers and devices.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/22/microsoft-announces-new-data-protection-tool-to-help-enterprises-secure-their-data/ |title=Microsoft announces new data protection tool to help enterprises secure their data |work=Tech Crunch |date=June 22, 2016 |access-date=June 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622190324/https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/22/microsoft-announces-new-data-protection-tool-to-help-enterprises-secure-their-data/ |archive-date=June 22, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2016, Microsoft joined the [[Linux Foundation]] as a Platinum member during Microsoft's Connect(); developer event in New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft has joined the Linux Foundation |url=https://www.linuxfoundation.org/announcements/microsoft-fortifies-commitment-to-open-source-becomes-linux-foundation-platinum |access-date=November 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125174704/https://www.linuxfoundation.org/announcements/microsoft-fortifies-commitment-to-open-source-becomes-linux-foundation-platinum |archive-date=November 25, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The cost of each Platinum membership is US$500,000 per year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft joined linux foundation with yearly platinum membership |url=https://www.lockssl.com/microsoft-joins-linux-foundation/ |publisher=Lock SSL |access-date=November 24, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202005415/https://www.lockssl.com/microsoft-joins-linux-foundation/ |archive-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> Some analysts had deemed this unthinkable ten years prior, however, as in 2001 then-CEO Steve Ballmer called Linux "cancer".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/16/13651940/microsoft-linux-foundation-membership |title=Microsoft joins the Linux Foundation, 15 years after Ballmer called it 'cancer' |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=November 11, 2016 |work=[[The Verge]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |access-date=August 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816110931/https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/16/13651940/microsoft-linux-foundation-membership |archive-date=August 16, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft planned to launch a preview of Intune for Education "in the coming weeks", with general availability scheduled for spring 2017, priced at $30 per device, or through volume licensing agreements.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-introduces-intune-for-education-promising-simple-setup-and-management-of-devices |title=Microsoft introduces Intune for Education, promising simple setup and management of devices |publisher=Neowin |author=Andy Weir |date=January 24, 2017 |access-date=January 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127080810/https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-introduces-intune-for-education-promising-simple-setup-and-management-of-devices |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Nokia & Microsoft Lumia devices.png|thumb|left|The [[Nokia Lumia 1320]], the [[Microsoft Lumia 535]] and the [[Nokia Lumia 530]], which all run on one of the now-discontinued [[Windows Phone]] operating systems]]
In January 2018, Microsoft patched [[Windows 10]] to account for CPU problems related to [[Meltdown (security vulnerability)|Intel's Meltdown security breach]]. The patch led to issues with the [[Microsoft Azure]] virtual machines reliant on Intel's CPU architecture. On January 12, Microsoft released [[PowerShell|PowerShell Core 6.0]] for the [[macOS]] and [[Linux]] operating systems.<ref name="TheRegister2018">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/12/25/microsoft_year_in_review_2018/ |title=Microsoft's 2018, part 1: Open source, wobbly Windows and everyone's going to the cloud |website=[[The Register]] |access-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103060059/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/12/25/microsoft_year_in_review_2018/ |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2018, Microsoft ceased notification support for its [[Windows Phone]] devices which effectively ended firmware updates for the discontinued devices.<ref name="TheRegister2018" /> In March 2018, Microsoft recalled [[Windows 10 editions#Discontinued editions|Windows 10 S]] to change it to a mode for the Windows operating system rather than a separate and unique operating system. In March the company also established guidelines that censor users of [[Office 365]] from using [[profanity]] in private documents.<ref name="TheRegister2018" />

In April 2018, Microsoft released the source code for Windows [[File Manager (Windows)|File Manager]] under the [[MIT License]] to celebrate the program's 20th anniversary. In April the company further expressed willingness to embrace open source initiatives by announcing [[Azure Sphere]] as its own derivative of the [[Linux]] operating system.<ref name="TheRegister2018" /> In May 2018, Microsoft partnered with 17 American intelligence agencies to develop [[cloud computing]] products. The project is dubbed "Azure Government" and has ties to the [[Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure]] (JEDI) surveillance program.<ref name="TheRegister2018" /> On June 4, 2018, Microsoft officially announced the acquisition of [[GitHub]] for $7.5&nbsp;billion, a deal that closed on October 26, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.microsoft.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-to-acquire-github-for-7-5-billion/ |title=Microsoft to acquire GitHub for $7.5 billion |date=June 4, 2018 |website=Microsoft |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604142244/https://news.microsoft.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-to-acquire-github-for-7-5-billion/ |archive-date=June 4, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/microsoft-completes-github-acquisition/ar-BBOVVOT |title=Microsoft completes GitHub acquisition |website=www.msn.com |access-date=April 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112212059/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/microsoft-completes-github-acquisition/ar-BBOVVOT |archive-date=January 12, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On July 10, 2018, Microsoft revealed the [[Microsoft Surface Go|Surface Go]] platform to the public. Later in the month, it converted [[Microsoft Teams]] to [[Gratis versus libre|gratis]].<ref name="TheRegister2018" /> In August 2018, Microsoft released two projects called Microsoft AccountGuard and Defending Democracy. It also unveiled [[Qualcomm Snapdragon|Snapdragon 850]] compatibility for [[Windows 10]] on the [[ARM architecture]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hackett |first1=Robert |title=Microsoft Offers Free Cybersecurity Tools to Political Candidates—But You've Got to Be a Microsoft Customer |url=http://fortune.com/2018/08/21/microsoft-free-cybersecurity-tools-midterm-election-facebook-google/ |access-date=August 24, 2018 |date=August 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822112819/http://fortune.com/2018/08/21/microsoft-free-cybersecurity-tools-midterm-election-facebook-google/ |archive-date=August 22, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lerman |first1=Rachel |title=Microsoft releases new security tools for political campaigns to combat hacking attempts |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-releases-new-security-tools-for-political-campaigns-to-combat-hacking-attempts/ |access-date=August 24, 2018 |newspaper=The Seattle Times |date=August 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824102040/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-releases-new-security-tools-for-political-campaigns-to-combat-hacking-attempts/ |archive-date=August 24, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TheRegister2018" />

[[File:Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin tries out Microsoft HoloLens (29794543715).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Apollo 11]] astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] using a [[Microsoft HoloLens]] mixed reality headset in September 2016]]
In August 2018, [[Toyota Tsusho]] began a partnership with Microsoft to create [[fish farming]] tools using the Microsoft Azure application suite for [[Internet of things]] (IoT) technologies related to water management. Developed in part by researchers from [[Kindai University]], the water pump mechanisms use [[artificial intelligence]] to count the number of fish on a [[conveyor belt]], analyze the number of fish, and deduce the effectiveness of water flow from the data the fish provide. The specific [[computer program]]s used in the process fall under the Azure Machine Learning and the Azure IoT Hub platforms.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/01/ai_roundup_310818/ |title=Google goes bilingual, Facebook fleshes out translation and TensorFlow is dope—And, Microsoft is assisting fish farmers in Japan |website=[[The Register]] |access-date=September 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902114415/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/01/ai_roundup_310818/ |archive-date=September 2, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2018, Microsoft discontinued [[Skype|Skype Classic]].<ref name="TheRegister2018" /> On October 10, 2018, Microsoft joined the [[Open Invention Network]] community despite holding more than 60,000 patents.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/10/microsoft_open_invention_network/ |title=Microsoft has signed up to the Open Invention Network. We repeat. Microsoft has signed up to the OIN |website=[[The Register]] |access-date=October 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011123124/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/10/microsoft_open_invention_network/ |archive-date=October 11, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2018, Microsoft agreed to supply 100,000 [[Microsoft HoloLens]] headsets to the [[United States Armed Forces|United States military]] in order to "increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/11/29/microsoft_military_money/ |title=See this, Google? Microsoft happy to take a half-billion in sweet, sweet US military money to 'increase lethality' |website=[[The Register]] |access-date=November 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130140427/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/11/29/microsoft_military_money/ |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2018, Microsoft introduced Azure Multi-Factor Authentication for Microsoft Azure.<ref name="R1BDM">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/12/28/microsoft_2018_in_review_part_2/ |title=Microsoft's 2018, part 2: Azure data centers heat up and Windows 10? It burns! It burns! |website=[[The Register]] |access-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104072728/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/12/28/microsoft_2018_in_review_part_2/ |archive-date=January 4, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2018, Microsoft announced [[TianoCore EDK II#Project Mu|Project Mu]], an [[open source]] release of the [[UEFI|Unified Extensible Firmware Interface]] (UEFI) core used in [[Microsoft Surface]] and [[Hyper-V]] products. The project promotes the idea of [[TianoCore EDK II#Project Mu|Firmware as a Service]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://betanews.com/2018/12/20/microsoft-project-mu/ |title=Microsoft announces Project Mu, an open-source release of the UEFI core |date=December 20, 2018 |access-date=December 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221230714/https://betanews.com/2018/12/20/microsoft-project-mu/ |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the same month, Microsoft announced the [[open source]] implementation of [[Windows Forms]] and the [[Windows Presentation Foundation]] (WPF) which will allow for further movement of the company toward the transparent release of key frameworks used in developing Windows desktop applications and software. December also saw the company discontinue the [[Microsoft Edge Legacy|Microsoft Edge [Legacy]]] browser project in favor of the [[Microsoft Edge|"New Edge"]] browser project, featuring a [[Chromium (web browser)|Chromium]] based backend.<ref name="R1BDM" />

On February 20, 2019, Microsoft said it would 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 the political space from hacking.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-cyber-europe/microsoft-expands-political-security-service-to-12-european-countries-idUSKCN1Q90GF Microsoft expands political security service to 12 European countries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220093504/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-cyber-europe/microsoft-expands-political-security-service-to-12-european-countries-idUSKCN1Q90GF |date=February 20, 2019}}, Reuters (February 20, 2019)</ref> In February 2019, hundreds of Microsoft employees protested the company's [[war profiteering]] from a $480&nbsp;million contract to develop [[virtual reality headset]]s for the [[United States Army]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/22/microsoft-protest-us-army-augmented-reality-headsets |title='We won't be war profiteers': Microsoft workers protest $480m army contract |newspaper=The Guardian |date=February 22, 2019 |last1=Wong |first1=Julia Carrie |author-link=Julia Carrie Wong |access-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223133132/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/22/microsoft-protest-us-army-augmented-reality-headsets |archive-date=February 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===2020–present: Acquisitions, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows 11===
{{See also|Acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft}}

On March 26, 2020, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Affirmed Networks for about $1.35&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.investors.com/news/technology/microsoft-stock-reacts-head-scratcher-acquisition/|title=Microsoft Stock Reacts To 'Head-Scratcher' Acquisition|date=March 27, 2020|work=Investor's Business Daily|access-date=March 30, 2020|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/03/26/microsoft-announces-agreement-to-acquire-affirmed-networks-to-deliver-new-opportunities-for-a-global-5g-ecosystem/|title=Microsoft announces agreement to acquire Affirmed Networks to deliver new opportunities for a global 5G ecosystem|date=March 26, 2020|website=The Official Microsoft Blog|language=en-US|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref> Due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Microsoft closed all of its retail stores indefinitely due to health concerns.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-closing-retail-locations-novel-coronavirus-covid-2020-3|title=Microsoft is closing its retail stores around the world indefinitely because of the coronavirus crisis|publisher=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref> On July 22, 2020, Microsoft announced plans to close its [[Mixer (service)|Mixer]] service, planning to move existing partners to [[List of Facebook features#Facebook Gaming|Facebook Gaming]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/06/22/bringing-more-players-into-our-gaming-vision|title=Bringing More Players Into Our Gaming Vision|date=June 22, 2020|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=August 17, 2020}}</ref>

On July 31, 2020, it was reported that Microsoft was in talks to acquire [[TikTok]] after the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] ordered [[ByteDance]] to [[Divestment|divest]] ownership of the application to the U.S.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Jacobs|first1=Jennifer|last2=Mohsin|first2=Saleha|last3=Leonard|first3=Jenny|date=July 31, 2020|title=Trump to Order China's ByteDance to Sell TikTok in U.S.|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-31/trump-to-order-china-s-bytedance-to-sell-tiktok-u-s-operations|access-date=August 3, 2020|newspaper=Bloomberg.com}}</ref> On August 3, 2020, after speculation on the deal, [[Donald Trump]] stated that Microsoft could buy the application, however, it should be completed by September 15, 2020, and that the [[United States Department of the Treasury]] should receive a portion if it were to go through.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Davidson|first=Helen|date=August 3, 2020|title=TikTok sale: Trump approves Microsoft's plan but says US should get a cut of any deal|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/aug/03/tiktok-row-trump-to-take-action-soon-says-pompeo-as-microsoft-pursues-deal|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

On August 5, 2020, Microsoft stopped its [[Xbox Cloud Gaming#iOS|xCloud]] game streaming test for [[iOS]] devices. According to Microsoft, the future of xCloud on iOS remains unclear and potentially out of Microsoft's hands. [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] has imposed a strict limit on "[[Remote Desktop Services|remote desktop clients]]" which means applications are only allowed to connect to a user-owned host device or gaming console owned by the user.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/5/21356274/microsoft-xcloud-ios-apple-iphone-ipad-testing-ends-apple-app-store-policies|title=Microsoft cuts xCloud iOS testing early as its future on Apple devices remains unclear|access-date=August 5, 2020|website=The Verge|date=August 5, 2020}}</ref> On September 21, 2020, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire video game company [[ZeniMax Media]], the parent company of [[Bethesda Softworks]], for about $7.5&nbsp;billion, with the deal expected to occur in the second half of 2021 fiscal year.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Liana|last=Ruppert|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/09/21/microsoft-acquires-bethesda-the-studio-behind-fallout-the-elder-scrolls-doom-and-more|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921142458/https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/09/21/microsoft-acquires-bethesda-the-studio-behind-fallout-the-elder-scrolls-doom-and-more|url-status=live|archive-date=September 21, 2020|title=Microsoft Acquires Bethesda, The Studio Behind Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, And More|magazine=Game Informer|date=September 21, 2020|access-date=September 22, 2020}}</ref> On March 9, 2021, the acquisition was finalized and ZeniMax Media became part of Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios division.<ref>{{cite web|first=Matt T.M.|last=Kim|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/microsofts-zenimax-acquisition-officially-complete-bethesda-now-a-part-of-xbox|title=Microsoft's ZeniMax Acquisition Officially Complete, Bethesda Now a Part of Xbox|website=IGN|date=March 10, 2021|access-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref> The total price of the deal was $8.1 billion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://microsoft.gcs-web.com/static-files/0a2b8528-fb8b-4d11-8da2-fd9fa988a155|title=Form 10-K|page=39|website=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]]|date=June 30, 2021|access-date=August 7, 2021|archive-date=August 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806183040/https://microsoft.gcs-web.com/static-files/0a2b8528-fb8b-4d11-8da2-fd9fa988a155|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On September 22, 2020, Microsoft announced that it had an exclusive license to use [[OpenAI]]'s GPT-3 artificial intelligence language generator.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=OpenAI is giving Microsoft exclusive access to its GPT-3 language model |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/23/1008729/openai-is-giving-microsoft-exclusive-access-to-its-gpt-3-language-model/ |date=September 23, 2020 |last=Hao |first=Karen |access-date=September 26, 2020 |magazine=[[MIT Technology Review]] |language=en |quote="On September 22, Microsoft announced that it would begin exclusively licensing GPT-3, the world's largest language model, built by San Francisco–based OpenAI."}}</ref> The previous version of [[GPT-3]], called [[GPT-2]], made headlines for being "too dangerous to release" and had numerous capabilities, including designing websites, prescribing medication, answering questions, and penning articles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/microsoft-openai-gpt-3-exclusive-b550673.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/microsoft-openai-gpt-3-exclusive-b550673.html |archive-date=May 14, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Microsoft gets exclusive access to AI deemed 'too dangerous to release'|access-date=September 24, 2020|website=Independent|date=September 23, 2020}}</ref>

On November 10, 2020, Microsoft released the [[Xbox Series X and Series S|Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S]] video game consoles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The all-new Xbox Series X {{!}} Xbox|url=https://www.xbox.com/en-US/consoles/xbox-series-x|access-date=December 2, 2020|website=Xbox.com|language=en}}</ref>

In February 2021, Microsoft released [[Azure Quantum]] for public preview.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Microsoft's quantum cloud computing plans take another big step forward |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-quantum-cloud-computing-plans-take-another-big-step-forward/ |date=February 1, 2021 |last1=Leprince-Ringuet |first1=Daphne |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=ZDNet |language=en-US}}</ref> The public cloud computing platform provides access to quantum software and quantum hardware including [[trapped ion quantum computer|trapped ion]], [[neutral atom quantum computer|neutral atom]], and [[superconducting quantum computing|superconducting]] systems.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Azure Quantum?|url=https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Azure-Quantum |last1=Gillis |first1=Alexander |website=Tech Target |access-date=September 4, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft says it's cracked the code on an important quantum computing problem |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/8/24120103/microsoft-says-its-cracked-the-code-on-an-important-quantum-computing-problem |access-date=September 4, 2024 |date=April 8, 2024 |last1=David |first1=Emilia |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft adds Pasqal's neutral-atom processors to its Azure Quantum cloud computing lineup |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2022/microsoft-adds-pasqals-neutral-atom-processors-to-its-azure-quantum-cloud-computing-lineup/#:~:text=Microsoft's%20Azure%20Quantum%20cloud%20computing%20service%20will%20be |access-date=September 4, 2024 |date=March 21, 2024 |last1=Boyle |first1=Alan |website=GeekWire |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft adds Rigetti quantum computing to Azure cloud |url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsoft-adds-rigetti-quantum-computing-to-azure-cloud/ |access-date=September 4, 2024 |date=December 7, 2021 |last1=Moss |first1=Sebastian |website=Data Center Dynamics |language=en-US}}</ref>

In April 2021, Microsoft announced it would buy [[Nuance Communications]] for approximately $16 billion.<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 12, 2021|title=Microsoft to buy AI firm Nuance Communications for about $16 billion in healthcare push|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuance-commns-m-a-microsoft-idUSKBN2BZ1FS|access-date=April 12, 2021}}</ref> The acquisition of Nuance was completed in March 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 5, 2022 |title=Microsoft Completes Acquisition of Nuance |url=https://www.finsmes.com/2022/03/microsoft-completes-acquisition-of-nuance.html |access-date=March 6, 2022 |website=FinSMEs |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2021, in part due to the strong quarterly earnings spurred by the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Microsoft's valuation came to nearly $2 trillion. The increased necessity for [[remote work]] and [[distance education]] drove demand for [[cloud computing]] and grew the company's gaming sales.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Tilley |first=Aaron |date=April 27, 2021|title=Microsoft Sales Show Strong Growth in Gaming, Cloud|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-msft-3q-earnings-report-2021-11619475788|access-date=April 29, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Tilley|first=Aaron|date=March 27, 2020|title=One Business Winner Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns: the Cloud|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-business-winner-amid-coronavirus-lockdowns-the-cloud-11585327905|access-date=April 29, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=FY21 Q2 – Press Releases – Investor Relations – Microsoft|url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2021-Q2/press-release-webcast|access-date=April 29, 2021|website=www.microsoft.com}}</ref>

On June 24, 2021, Microsoft announced [[Windows 11]] during a livestreamed event. The announcement came with confusion after Microsoft announced Windows 10 would be the last version of the operating system.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 24, 2021|title=Microsoft has officially announced Windows 11!|url=https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-11-announcement|access-date=June 24, 2021|website=Windows Central}}</ref> It was released to the general public on October 5, 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Windows 11 available on October 5 |url=https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/08/31/windows-11-available-on-october-5/ |website=Windows Experience Blog |access-date=October 20, 2021 |date=August 31, 2021|last1=Blog |first1=Windows Experience }}</ref>

In September 2021, it was announced that the company had acquired Takelessons, an online platform that connects students and tutors in numerous subjects. The acquisition positioned Microsoft to grow its presence in the market of providing online education to large numbers of people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft acquires TakeLessons, an online and in-person tutoring platform, to ramp up its edtech play |url=https://www.techcrunch.com/2021/09/10/microsoft-acquires-takelessons-an-online-and-in-person-tutoring-platform-to-ramp-up-its-edtech-play | website=TechCrunch |date=September 10, 2021 |last=Lundun |first=Ingrid |access-date=December 18, 2022}}</ref> In the same month, Microsoft acquired Australia-based video editing software company [[Clipchamp]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Microsoft acquires video creation and editing software maker Clipchamp|url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/08/microsoft-acquires-video-creation-and-editing-software-maker-clipchamp/|last=Perez|first=Sarah|website=TechCrunch|date=September 8, 2021|access-date=January 5, 2023}}</ref>

In October 2021, Microsoft announced that it began rolling out end-to-end encryption (E2EE) support for Microsoft Teams calls in order to secure business communication while using video conferencing software. Users can ensure that their calls are encrypted and can utilize a security code that both parties on a call must verify on their respective ends.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-teams-calls-are-getting-a-major-security-upgrade|title=Microsoft Teams calls are getting a major security upgrade|website=Tech Radar|date=October 22, 2021|author=Anthony Spadafora|access-date=October 22, 2021}}</ref> On October 7, Microsoft acquired Ally.io, a software service that measures companies' progress against [[OKR]]s. Microsoft plans to incorporate Ally.io into its Viva family of employee experience products.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/07/microsoft-acquires-ally-io-okr-startup-that-raised-76-million/|title=Microsoft acquires Ally.io, OKR startup that raised $76 million|website=Tech Crunch|date=October 7, 2021|author1=Ron Miller|author2=Alex Wilhelm|access-date=November 12, 2021}}</ref>

On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced the acquisition of American video game developer and [[holding company]] [[Activision Blizzard]] in an all-cash deal worth $68.7 billion.<ref name="Warren2022">{{Cite web|last=Warren|first=Tom|date=January 18, 2022|title=Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion|url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22889258/microsoft-activision-blizzard-xbox-acquisition-call-of-duty-overwatch|access-date=January 18, 2022|website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> Activision Blizzard is best known for producing franchises, including but not limited to ''[[Warcraft]]'', ''[[Diablo (series)|Diablo]]'', ''[[Call of Duty]]'', ''[[StarCraft]]'', ''[[Candy Crush Saga]]'', ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'', ''[[Spyro]]'', ''[[Tony Hawk's]]'', ''[[Guitar Hero]]'', and ''[[Overwatch]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Anne|first=Melissa|date=January 19, 2022|title=Microsoft just bought Warcraft creator Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion – MEGPlay|url=https://megplay.com/microsoft-bought-activision-blizzard/|access-date=January 19, 2022|language=en-US|archive-date=January 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121033718/https://megplay.com/microsoft-bought-activision-blizzard/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Activision and Microsoft each released statements saying the acquisition was to benefit their businesses in the [[metaverse]], many saw Microsoft's acquisition of video game studios as an attempt to compete against [[Meta Platforms]], with ''[[TheStreet]]'' referring to Microsoft wanting to become "the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] of the metaverse".<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Patnaik|first1=Subrat|last2=Mukherjee|first2=Supantha|date=January 19, 2022|title=Microsoft to gobble up Activision in $69 billion metaverse bet|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-buy-activision-blizzard-deal-687-billion-2022-01-18/|access-date=January 20, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Tedder|first=Michael|title=Microsoft Purchases Activision Blizzard; Plans To Dominates The Metaverse|url=https://www.thestreet.com/investing/microsoft-wants-to-be-the-disney-of-video-games-metaverse|access-date=January 20, 2022|website=TheStreet|date=January 18, 2022 |language=en-us}}</ref> Microsoft also named [[Phil Spencer (business executive)|Phil Spencer]], head of the Xbox brand since 2014, the inaugural CEO of the newly established [[Microsoft Gaming]] division, which now houses the Xbox operations team and the three publishers in the company's portfolio (Xbox Game Studios, ZeniMax Media, Activision Blizzard). 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.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Tilley|first2=Cara |last2=Lombardo |first3=Kirsten |last3=Grind  |first1=Aaron|date=January 18, 2022|title=WSJ News Exclusive {{!}} Microsoft to Buy Activision Blizzard in All-Cash Deal Valued at $75 Billion|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-to-buy-activision-blizzard-games-11642512435|access-date=January 20, 2022|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> The deal was closed on October 13, 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-has-officially-completed-its-acquisition-of-activision-blizzard/| title = Microsoft has officially completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard | first = Tom | last = Ivan | date = October 13, 2023 | access-date = October 13, 2023 | work = [[Video Games Chronicle]] }}</ref>

In December 2022, Microsoft announced a new 10-year deal with the [[London Stock Exchange Group]] for products including Microsoft Azure; Microsoft acquired around 4% of LSEG as part of the deal.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Matt |last1=Clinch |first2=Arjun |last2=Kharpal |title=Microsoft buys near 4% stake in London Stock Exchange Group as part of 10-year cloud deal |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/12/microsoft-buys-near-4percent-stake-in-london-stock-exchange-and-launches-10-year-partnership.html |date=December 12, 2022 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>

In January 2023, CEO Satya Nadella announced Microsoft would lay off some 10,000 employees.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weise |first1=Karen |title=Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Workers as It Looks to Trim Costs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/business/microsoft-layoffs.html |access-date=January 18, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=January 18, 2023}}</ref> The announcement came a day after hosting a [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] concert for 50 people, including Microsoft executives, in [[Davos]], Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Chloe |date=January 20, 2023 |title=Microsoft under fire for hosting private Sting concert for its execs in Davos the night before announcing mass layoffs |url=https://fortune.com/2023/01/20/microsoft-under-fire-hosting-private-sting-concert-execs-davos-night-before-announcing-mass-layoffs/ |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=Fortune |language=en}}</ref>

On January 23, 2023, Microsoft announced a new multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment deal with [[ChatGPT]] developer [[OpenAI]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Capoot |first=Ashley |title=Microsoft announces multibillion-dollar investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/23/microsoft-announces-multibillion-dollar-investment-in-chatgpt-maker-openai.html |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=CNBC |date=January 23, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

In June 2023, Microsoft released Azure Quantum Elements to run molecular simulations and calculations in [[computational chemistry]] and materials science using a combination of AI, high-performance computing and [[quantum computing]].<ref name="AQE">{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Debuts Azure Quantum Elements and Azure Quantum Copilot LLM |url=https://www.hpcwire.com/2023/06/22/microsoft-debuts-azure-quantum-elements-and-azure-quantum-copilot-llm/|date=June 22, 2023 |last1=Russell |first1=John |access-date=September 4, 2024 |website=HPCwire |language=en-US}}</ref> The service includes Copilot, a GPT-4 based large language model tool to query and visualize data, write code, initiate simulations, and educate researchers.<ref name="AQE" />

At a November 2023 developer conference, Microsoft announced two new custom-designed computing chips: The Maia chip, designed to run large language models, and Cobalt CPU, designed to power general cloud services on Azure.<ref>{{cite web |title=Microsoft introduces its own chips for AI, with eye on cost |work=Reuters |date=November 15, 2023 |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-introduces-its-own-chips-ai-with-eye-cost-2023-11-15/ |access-date=December 14, 2023 |last1=Nellis |first1=Stephen }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Microsoft is finally making custom chips — and they're all about AI |date=November 15, 2023 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/15/23960345/microsoft-cpu-gpu-ai-chips-azure-maia-cobalt-specifications-cloud-infrastructure |publisher=The Verge |access-date=December 14, 2023}}</ref>

On November 20, 2023, Satya Nadella announced that [[Sam Altman]], who had been [[Removal of Sam Altman from OpenAI|ousted as CEO of OpenAI]] just days earlier, and [[Greg Brockman]], who had resigned as president, would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.<ref>{{Cite web|url=	https://twitter.com/satyanadella/status/1726509045803336122 |title=	Satyan Adella on X |website=	X |access-date=	November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120082141/https://twitter.com/satyanadella/status/1726509045803336122 |archive-date=	November 20, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=	https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/20/ousted-openai-head-sam-altman-to-lead-microsofts-new-ai-team-ceo-nadella-says.html |title=	Ousted OpenAI head Sam Altman to lead Microsoft's new AI team |website=CNBC |date=	November 20, 2023 |access-date=	November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120084752/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/20/ousted-openai-head-sam-altman-to-lead-microsofts-new-ai-team-ceo-nadella-says.html |archive-date=	November 20, 2023 }}</ref> However, the plan was short-lived, as Altman was subsequently reinstated as OpenAI's CEO and Brockman rejoined the company amid pressure from OpenAI's employees and investors on its board.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/business/dealbook/openai-altman-microsoft-board.html |title=The Fallout From Sam Altman's Return to OpenAI |date=November 22, 2023 |last1=Ross Sorkin |first1=Andrew |last2=Mattu |first2=Ravi |last3=Warner |first3=Bernhard |last4=Kessler |first4=Sarah |last5=de la Merced |first5=Michael |last6=Hirsch |first6=Lauren |last7=Livni |first7=Ephrat |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 23, 2023 |archive-date=December 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217010304/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/business/dealbook/openai-altman-microsoft-board.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2024, [[Inflection AI]]'s cofounders [[Mustafa Suleyman]] and Karen Simonyan announced their departure from the company in order to start Microsoft AI, with Microsoft [[acqui-hiring]] nearly the entirety of its 70-person workforce. As part of the deal, Microsoft paid Inflection $650&nbsp;million to license its technology.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Weise |first1=Karen |last2=Metz |first2=Cade |date=March 19, 2024 |title=Microsoft Hires DeepMind Co-Founder to Run Consumer A.I. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/technology/mustafa-suleyman-google-gemini.html |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429163253/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/technology/mustafa-suleyman-google-gemini.html |archive-date=April 29, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Griffith |first1=Erin |last2=Metz |first2=Cade |date=August 8, 2024 |title=The New A.I. Deal: Buy Everything but the Company |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/technology/ai-start-ups-google-microsoft-amazon.html |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907221045/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/technology/ai-start-ups-google-microsoft-amazon.html |archive-date=September 7, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2024, Microsoft became the most valued publicly traded company. Meanwhile, that month, the company announced a subscription offering of artificial intelligence for small businesses via Copilot Pro.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Novet |first=Jordan |date=January 12, 2024 |title=Microsoft tops Apple as world's most valuable public company |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/12/microsoft-tops-apple-in-market-cap-at-fridays-close.html |access-date=January 14, 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Novet |first=Jordan |date=January 15, 2024 |title=Microsoft brings Copilot AI assistant to small businesses and launches a premium tier for individuals |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/15/microsoft-brings-copilot-to-small-businesses-launches-copilot-pro.html |access-date=January 15, 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>

In April 2024, Microsoft made a $1.5 billion investment in the Emirati AI firm [[G42 (company)|G42]]. As part of the deal, G42 said it would use the Microsoft Azure platform for its AI development and deployment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 16, 2024 |title=Microsoft to invest $1.5 bln in Emirati AI firm G42, takes minority stake |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/microsoft-invest-15-bln-emirati-ai-firm-g42-new-york-times-reports-2024-04-16/ |access-date=April 16, 2024 |website=Reuters |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft to invest $1.5bn in Abu Dhabi AI group G42 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/930a1c17-2e84-4ddb-8e72-4e4a1b833c40 |access-date=April 16, 2024 |last1=Cornish |first1=Chloe |last2=Hammond |first2=George |date=April 16, 2024 |work=[[Financial Times]] |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240416041625/https://www.ft.com/content/930a1c17-2e84-4ddb-8e72-4e4a1b833c40 |archive-date=April 16, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Later that month, Microsoft unveiled plans to invest $1.7 billion in developing AI and cloud infrastructure in Indonesia. The plan includes establishment of data centers and partnerships to support digital transformation efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Microsoft To Invest $1.7 Billion To Develop AI, Cloud Infrastructure In Indonesia|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/yessarrosendar/2024/04/30/microsoft-to-invest-17-billion-to-develop-ai-cloud-infrastructure-in-indonesia/?sh=6ceee60a7e5c |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

In May 2024, Microsoft announced a $3.3 billion investment to build an artificial intelligence hub in southeast [[Wisconsin]], tripling its initial proposal. This initiative, unveiled by President [[Joe Biden]] in [[Racine County, Wisconsin|Racine County]], includes constructing a data center, creating 2,300 construction jobs by 2025, and 2,000 permanent jobs over time, alongside establishing an AI co-innovation lab at [[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee|UW-Milwaukee]] to train up to 1,000 individuals by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmidt |first=Mitchell |date=May 9, 2024 |title=What to know about Microsoft's $3.3 billion data center in southeast Wisconsin |url=https://madison.com/news/state-regional/business/wisconsin-microsoft-artificial-intelligence-racine-biden-evers-trump-foxconn-manufacturing-data-center/article_3b0f4012-0d42-11ef-a7db-9325e7c8bc73.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240515115627/https://madison.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/wisconsin-microsoft-artificial-intelligence-racine-biden-evers-trump-foxconn-manufacturing-data-center/article_3b0f4012-0d42-11ef-a7db-9325e7c8bc73.html#selection-3893.0-4397.143 |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=May 15, 2024 |website=Wisconsin State Journal |language=en}}</ref>

In June 2024, Microsoft announced it would be laying off 1,000 employees from the company's mixed reality and Azure cloud computing divisions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Novet |first=Jordan |date=June 3, 2024 |title=Microsoft confirms layoffs in mixed reality but will keep selling HoloLens 2 headsets |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/03/microsoft-confirms-mixed-reality-layoffs-will-keep-selling-hololens-2.html |access-date=June 4, 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Ashley |date=June 3, 2024 |title=Microsoft is laying off hundreds in its Azure cloud business, sources say |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-cuts-azure-jobs-cloud-2024-6 |access-date=June 4, 2024 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

In June 2024, Microsoft announced that it was building a "hyperscale data centre" in South East Leeds.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 28, 2024 |title=Microsoft to build 'hyperscale data centre' near Leeds |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy79eww4g8go |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> In July 2024, it was reported that the company was laying off its [[diversity, equity, and inclusion]] (DEI) team.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Ashley |title=Microsoft laid off a DEI team, and its lead wrote an internal email blasting how DEI is 'no longer business critical' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-layoffs-dei-leader-email-2024-7 |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Valentine |first=Rebekah |date=July 16, 2024 |title=Microsoft DEI Lead Blasts Company in Internal Email After Team Is Reportedly Laid Off |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-dei-lead-blasts-company-in-internal-email-after-team-is-reportedly-laid-off |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>

On July 19, 2024, a [[2024 CrowdStrike-related IT outages|global IT outage]] impacted Microsoft services, affecting businesses, airlines, and financial institutions worldwide. The outage was traced back to a flawed update of [[CrowdStrike]]'s cybersecurity software, which resulted in Microsoft systems crashing and causing disruptions across various sectors. Despite CrowdStrike's CEO [[George Kurtz]] clarifying that the issue was not a cyberattack, the incident had widespread consequences, leading to delays in air travel, financial transactions, and medical services globally. Microsoft stated that the underlying cause had been fixed but acknowledged ongoing residual impacts on some [[Microsoft 365]] apps and services.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 19, 2024 |title=Microsoft Cloud Technical Outage Updates |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2024-07-19/microsoft-cloud-technical-outage-updates?sref=JTShqBgB |access-date=July 19, 2024 |publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=July 19, 2024 |title=Internet Global Outage: CrowdStrike and Microsoft Downtime |url=https://apnews.com/live/internet-global-outage-crowdstrike-microsoft-downtime |access-date=July 19, 2024 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref>

In September 2024, [[BlackRock]] and Microsoft announced a $30 billion fund, the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership, to invest in AI infrastructure such as data centers and energy projects. The fund has the potential to reach $100 billion with debt financing, and partners include [[Abu Dhabi]]-backed MGX and [[Nvidia]], which will provide AI expertise. Investments will primarily focus on the U.S., with some in partner countries.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 18, 2024 |title=Microsoft, BlackRock to launch $30 billion fund for AI infrastructure |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/microsoft-blackrock-plan-30-bln-fund-invest-ai-infrastructure-ft-reports-2024-09-17/ |work=Reuters}}</ref> Microsoft also announced relaunch of its controversial tool, Recall, in November 2024 after addressing privacy concerns. Initially criticized for taking regular screenshots without user consent, Recall was changed to an opt-in feature instead of being default on. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office monitored the situation and noted the adjustments, which included enhanced security measures like encryption and biometric access. While experts regarded these changes as improvements, they advised caution, with some recommending further testing before users opted in.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kleinman |first=Zoe |title=Microsoft re-launches 'privacy nightmare' AI screenshot tool |date=September 27, 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c869glx8endo |access-date=September 29, 2024}}</ref>

On February 28, 2025, Microsoft announced that Skype would be shutting down on May 5, 2025, to streamline its focus on Microsoft Teams. The company stated there would be no job cuts due to the shutdown.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bhuiyan |first=Johana |title=Microsoft is shutting down Skype after over two decades |date=February 28, 2025 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/28/microsoft-skype |website=The Guardian |access-date=March 1, 2025}}</ref>

On April 4, 2025, Microsoft celebrated its [[50th anniversary]].<ref name="ms_50th">{{Cite web|url=https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/|title=Microsoft celebrates 50 years|website=Microsoft celebrates 50 years}}</ref>

On May 30, 2025, it was reported that Microsoft's Russian division would be preparing to file for bankruptcy, days after President [[Vladimir Putin]] stated that foreign services providers should be throttled in Russia to make way for domestic software, which included Microsoft. The company previously restructured operations in Russia in June 2022 after being significantly impacted by the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], but stated those restructuring efforts have failed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-unit-russia-file-bankruptcy-database-shows-2025-05-30/|title=Microsoft unit in Russia to file for bankruptcy, database shows|date=May 30, 2025|access-date=May 30, 2025|website=Reuters|language=en}}</ref>

On May 23, 2025, it was reported that Europol's European Cybercrime Centre has worked with Microsoft to disrupt Lumma Stealer, a significant infostealer threat. The joint operation targeted a sophisticated ecosystem that allowed criminals to exploit stolen information on a massive scale.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wenzel |first=Esther |date=23 May 2025 |title=Europol helps disrupt malware threat Lumma |url=https://euronewsweek.co.uk/tech/europol-helps-disrupt-malware-threat-lumma/ |access-date=1 November 2025 |work=Euronewsweek}}</ref>

On July 2, 2025, Microsoft announced it would cut nearly 4% of its workforce, around 9,000 jobs, to control costs amid heavy AI infrastructure spending, while also restructuring management and streamlining operations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 2, 2025 |title=Microsoft to cut about 4% of jobs amid hefty AI bets |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/microsoft-lay-off-many-9000-employees-seattle-times-reports-2025-07-02/}}</ref>

==Corporate affairs==
{{See also|Criticism of Microsoft|Internet censorship in China|Embrace, extend, and extinguish}}Microsoft is ranked No. 14 in the 2022 [[Fortune 500|''Fortune'' 500]] rankings of the [[List of largest companies in the United States by revenue|largest United States corporations by total revenue]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fortune 500 Companies 2019: Who Made the List |url=https://fortune.com/fortune500/2022/search/ |access-date=July 1, 2022 |publisher=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]}}</ref> and it was the world's [[List of the largest software companies|largest software maker]] by revenue in 2022 according to [[Forbes Global 2000|''Forbes'' Global 2000]]. In 2018, Microsoft became the [[List of public corporations by market capitalization|most valuable publicly traded company]] in the world,<ref>{{Cite news |title=How did Microsoft just overtake Apple as the world's most valuable company? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/how-did-microsoft-just-overtake-apple-world-s-most-valuable-n940751 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129112846/https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/how-did-microsoft-just-overtake-apple-world-s-most-valuable-n940751 |archive-date=November 29, 2018 |access-date=November 28, 2018 |work=NBC News |language=en-US}}</ref> a position it has repeatedly traded with Apple in the years since.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marino-Nachison |first=David |date=June 12, 2024 |title=Apple, Microsoft Battle to Be Most Valuable U.S. Company |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/fed-meeting-fomc-interest-rate-decision-cpi-inflation-june-2024/card/apple-overtakes-microsoft-as-most-valuable-u-s-company-UyhqB7MKWc5LFbLiQMah |access-date=September 24, 2024 |website=[[Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> In April 2019, Microsoft became the third U.S. public company to be [[Trillion-dollar company|valued at over $1&nbsp;trillion]].{{Efn|After Apple and Amazon, respectively}} {{as of|2024||}}, Microsoft has the [[List of most valuable brands|third-highest]] global [[brand valuation]]. Microsoft is one of only two U.S.-based companies that have a prime [[credit rating]] of AAA.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 3, 2023 |title=Looking to Bet On Perfect AAA Credit Ratings? Play These ETFs |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/looking-bet-perfect-aaa-credit-171500242.html |website=Yahoo Finance}}</ref>

===Board of directors===
The company is run by a [[board of directors]] made up of mostly company outsiders, as is customary for publicly traded companies. Members of the board of directors as of December 2023 are [[Satya Nadella]], [[Reid Hoffman]], Hugh Johnston, Teri List, [[Sandi Peterson]], [[Penny Pritzker]], Carlos Rodriguez, [[Charles Scharf]], [[John W. Stanton]], [[John W. Thompson]], [[Emma Walmsley]] and [[Padmasree Warrior]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.microsoft.com/leadership/?section=board-members |title=Microsoft Leadership |date=March 20, 2017 |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=July 31, 2020}}</ref>

Board members are elected every year at the annual shareholders' meeting using a majority vote system. There are four committees within the board that oversee more specific matters. These committees include the Audit Committee, which handles accounting issues with the company including auditing and reporting; the Compensation Committee, which approves compensation for the CEO and other employees of the company; the Governance and Nominating Committee, which handles various corporate matters including the nomination of the board; and the Regulatory and Public Policy Committee, which includes legal/antitrust matters, along with privacy, trade, digital safety, artificial intelligence, and environmental sustainability.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Corporation Corporate Governance |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/corporate-governance/board-of-directors.aspx |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=July 31, 2020}}</ref>

On March 13, 2020, Gates announced that he is leaving the board of directors of Microsoft and [[Berkshire Hathaway]] to focus more on his philanthropic efforts. According to Aaron Tilley of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' this is "marking the biggest boardroom departure in the tech industry since the death of longtime rival and Apple Inc. co-founder [[Steve Jobs]]."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-to-leave-boards-of-microsoft-and-berkshire-hathaway-11584135172|title=Bill Gates to Leave Boards of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway|first=Aaron|last=Tilley|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=March 13, 2020|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref>

On January 13, 2022, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Microsoft's board of directors plans to hire an external [[law firm]] to review its [[sexual harassment]] and [[gender discrimination]] policies, and to release a summary of how the company handled past allegations of misconduct against Bill Gates and other corporate executives.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tilley |first=Aaron |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-board-to-review-companys-sexual-harassment-and-gender-discrimination-policies-11642107601 |title=Microsoft Board to Review Company's Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination Policies |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=January 13, 2022 |access-date=January 14, 2022 }}</ref>

===Chief executives===
# [[Bill Gates]] (1975–2000)
# [[Steve Ballmer]] (2000–2014)
# [[Satya Nadella]] (2014–present)

===Financial===
[[File:Microsoft 5-Year Stock History.svg|upright=1.6|thumb|Five year history graph of {{NASDAQ|MSFT}} stock on July 17, 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=MSFT&page=quotesearch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030114740/http://zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=MSFT&page=quotesearch |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |title=Five year history graph of (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock |work=ZenoBank |publisher=AlphaTrade |date=September 29, 2009 |access-date=September 29, 2009}}</ref>]]
When Microsoft went public and launched its [[initial public offering]] (IPO) in 1986, the opening [[stock]] price was $21; after the [[trading day]], the price closed at $27.75. As of July 2010, with the company's nine [[stock split]]s, any IPO [[share (finance)|shares]] would be multiplied by 288; if one were to buy the IPO today, given the splits and other factors, it would cost about 9&nbsp;cents.<ref name="Allan 2001" />{{Rp|235–236|date=November 2012}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/102018.asp |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=March 14, 1986 |title=Microsoft stock is red hot on first trading day |last=Monkman |first=Carol Smith |page=B9 |access-date=July 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100221224106/http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/102018.asp |archive-date=February 21, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://performance.morningstar.com/stock/performance-return.action?p=dividend_split_page&t=MSFT&region=USA&culture=en-US&s=SPYZ |title=MSFT stock performance and split info |publisher=Morningstar, Inc. |access-date=July 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510012046/http://performance.morningstar.com/stock/performance-return.action?p=dividend_split_page&t=MSFT&region=USA&culture=en-US&s=SPYZ |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The stock price peaked in 1999 at around $119 ($60.928, adjusting for splits).<ref name="stocksheet">{{Cite web |title=Microsoft stock price spreadsheet from Microsoft investor relations |url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/a/7/da7e8eca-4410-4475-a211-03327408b655/msftpricehist.xls |format=xls |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=August 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010091835/http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/a/7/da7e8eca-4410-4475-a211-03327408b655/msftpricehist.xls |archive-date=October 10, 2009 }}</ref> The company began to offer a [[dividend]] on January 16, 2003, starting at eight cents per share for the fiscal year followed by a dividend of sixteen cents per share the subsequent year, switching from yearly to quarterly dividends in 2005 with eight cents a share per quarter and a [[special dividend|special one-time payout]] of three dollars per share for the second quarter of the fiscal year.<ref name="stocksheet" /><ref name="dividendfaq">{{Cite web |title=Dividend Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.microsoft.com/msft/FAQ/dividend.mspx |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720122305/http://www.microsoft.com/msft/FAQ/dividend.mspx |archive-date=July 20, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Though the company had subsequent increases in dividend payouts, the price of Microsoft's stock remained steady for years.<ref name="dividendfaq" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Yahoo MSFT stock chart |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=MSFT&t=my |publisher=Yahoo Finance |access-date=December 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123064835/https://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=MSFT&t=my |archive-date=January 23, 2008}}</ref>

[[Standard & Poor's]] and [[Moody's Investors Service]] have both given a AAA rating to Microsoft, whose assets were valued at $41&nbsp;billion as compared to only $8.5&nbsp;billion in unsecured debt. Consequently, in February 2011 Microsoft released a corporate bond amounting to $2.25&nbsp;billion with relatively low borrowing rates compared to [[government bond]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-bonds-idUSTRE7128EZ20110204 |title=Microsoft sells $2.25&nbsp;billion of debt at low rates |work=Reuters |date=February 4, 2011 |access-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107042216/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/04/us-microsoft-bonds-idUSTRE7128EZ20110204 |archive-date=November 7, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> For the first time in 20 years [[Apple Inc.]] surpassed Microsoft in Q1 2011 quarterly profits and revenues due to a slowdown in PC sales and continuing huge losses in Microsoft's Online Services Division (which contains its search engine [[Bing (search engine)|Bing]]). Microsoft profits were $5.2&nbsp;billion, while Apple Inc. profits were $6&nbsp;billion, on revenues of $14.5&nbsp;billion and $24.7&nbsp;billion respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Charles |last=Arthur |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/apr/28/microsoft-falls-behind-apple |title=Microsoft falls behind Apple for the first time in 20 years |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=April 28, 2011 |access-date=May 11, 2011 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019115501/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/apr/28/microsoft-falls-behind-apple |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft's Online Services Division has been continuously loss-making since 2006 and in Q1 2011 it lost $726&nbsp;million. This follows a loss of $2.5&nbsp;billion for the year 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/04/29/microsoft-internet-bloodbath |title=When Will Microsoft's Internet Bloodbath End? |publisher=Techcrunch.com |date=April 29, 2011 |access-date=May 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510073301/http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/29/microsoft-internet-bloodbath/ |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+Sales by region (2023)<ref name="MarketScreener.com">{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Corporation: Shareholders Board Members Managers and Company Profile {{!}} US5949181045 {{!}} MarketScreener |url=https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MICROSOFT-CORPORATION-4835/company/ |access-date=March 6, 2024 |website=www.marketscreener.com |language=en}}</ref>
!Region
!Sales in billion $
!share
|-
|United States
|106.7
|50.4%
|-
|Other countries
|105.2
|49.6%
|}
On July 20, 2012, Microsoft posted its first quarterly loss ever, despite earning record revenues for the quarter and fiscal year, with a net loss of $492&nbsp;million due to a [[Write-off#Write-down|writedown]] related to the advertising company [[aQuantive]], which had been acquired for $6.2&nbsp;billion back in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Martha |title=Microsoft reports first quarterly loss ever |url=http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/19/12837611-microsoft-reports-first-quarterly-loss-ever?lite |access-date=July 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720121702/http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/19/12837611-microsoft-reports-first-quarterly-loss-ever?lite |archive-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref> As of January 2014, Microsoft's market capitalization stood at $314B,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Overview |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/msft/ |publisher=Marketwatch |access-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202080137/http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/msft |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> making it the 8th-largest company in the world by market capitalization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Top 100 Companies |url=http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/audit-services/capital-market/publications/top100-market-capitalisation.jhtml |publisher=PWC |access-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212041605/http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/audit-services/capital-market/publications/top100-market-capitalisation.jhtml |archive-date=February 12, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> On November 14, 2014, Microsoft overtook [[ExxonMobil]] to become the second most-valuable company by market capitalization, behind only [[Apple Inc.]] Its total market value was over $410B—with the stock price hitting $50.04 a share, the highest since early 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Surpasses Exxon as 2nd Most Valuable Co. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/11/14/business/ap-us-microsoft-no-2.html |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502160225/http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/11/14/business/ap-us-microsoft-no-2.html |archive-date=May 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, [[Reuters]] reported that Microsoft had earnings abroad of $76.4&nbsp;billion which were untaxed by the [[Internal Revenue Service]]. Under U.S. law, corporations do not pay income tax on overseas profits until the profits are brought into the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-offshore-idUSBREA3729V20140409 |title=Untaxed U.S. corporate profits held overseas top $2.1 trillion: study |newspaper=Reuters |date=April 9, 2014 |access-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114065547/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/09/us-usa-tax-offshore-idUSBREA3729V20140409 |archive-date=November 14, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The key trends of Microsoft are (as at the financial year ending June 30):<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Fundamentalanalyse {{!}} KGV {{!}} Kennzahlen |url=https://www.boerse.de/fundamental-analyse/Microsoft-Aktie/US5949181045 |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=boerse.de |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft 2008-2016 |url=https://www.boerse.de/fundamental-analyse/Microsoft-Aktie/US5949181045 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309232944/https://www.boerse.de/fundamental-analyse/Microsoft-Aktie/US5949181045 |archive-date=March 9, 2017 |access-date=April 9, 2024 |website=boerse.de |language=de}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable float-left" style="text-align: center;"
!Year
!Revenue<br />in billion US$<ref name="microsoft.com">{{Cite web |title=FY23 Q4 - Press Releases - Investor Relations - Microsoft |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2023-q4/press-release-webcast |access-date=July 25, 2023 |website=www.microsoft.com}}</ref>
!Net income<br />in billion US$<ref name="microsoft.com" />
!Total Assets<br />in billion US$<ref name="microsoft.com" />
!Employees<ref name="MicrosoftAnnualReports">{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Investor Relations—Annual Reports |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/annual-reports.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107145159/https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/annual-reports.aspx |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |access-date=November 7, 2018 |website=www.microsoft.com |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 2005
| 39.7
| 12.2
| 70.8
| 61,000
|-
| 2006
| 44.2
| 12.5
| 69.5
| 71,000
|-
| 2007
| 51.1
| 14.0
| 63.1
| 79,000
|-
| 2008
| 60.4
| 17.6
| 72.7
| 91,000
|-
| 2009
| 58.4
| 14.5
| 77.8
| 93,000
|-
| 2010
| 62.4
| 18.7
| 86.1
| 89,000
|-
| 2011
| 69.9
| 23.1
| 108
| 90,000
|-
| 2012
| 73.7
| 16.9
| 121
| 94,000
|-
| 2013
| 77.8
| 21.8
| 142
| 99,000
|-
| 2014
| 86.8
| 22.0
| 172
| 128,000
|-
| 2015
| 93.5
| 12.1
| 174
| 118,000
|-
| 2016
| 91.1
| 20.5
| 193
| 114,000
|-
| 2017
| 96.5
| 21.2
| 250
| 124,000
|-
| 2018
| 110
| 16.5
| 258
| 131,000
|-
| 2019
| 125
| 39.2
| 286
| 144,106
|-
|2020
|143
|44.2
|301
|163,000
|-
|2021
|168
|61.2
|333
|181,000
|-
|2022
|198
|72.7
|364
|221,000
|-
|2023
|211
|72.3
|411
|238,000
|-
|2024
|245
|88.1
|512
|228,000
|-
|2025
|282
|101.8
|619
|228,000
|}
In November 2018, the company won a $480&nbsp;million military contract with the U.S. government to bring [[augmented reality]] (AR) headset technology into the weapon repertoires of American soldiers. The two-year contract may result in follow-on orders of more than 100,000 headsets, according to documentation describing the bidding process. One of the contract's tag lines for the augmented reality technology seems to be its ability to enable "25 bloodless battles before the 1st battle", suggesting that actual combat training is going to be an essential aspect of the augmented reality headset capabilities.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/28/microsoft-wins-480m-military-contract-to-outfit-soldiers-with-hololens-ar-tech/ |title=Microsoft wins $480M military contract to outfit soldiers with HoloLens AR tech |work=TechCrunch |access-date=November 29, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129072828/https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/28/microsoft-wins-480m-military-contract-to-outfit-soldiers-with-hololens-ar-tech/ |archive-date=November 29, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Subsidiaries===
Microsoft is an international business. As such, it needs subsidiaries present in whatever national markets it chooses to harvest. An example is Microsoft Canada, which it established in 1985.<ref name="mcan">{{cite web |title=Welcome to Microsoft Canada |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/about/ |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=September 9, 2020}}</ref> Other countries have similar installations, to funnel profits back up to Redmond and to distribute the dividends to the holders of MSFT stock.

=== Ownership ===
The 10 largest shareholders of Microsoft in early 2024 were:<ref name="MarketScreener.com" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.techopedia.com/largest-microsoft-shareholders|title=Who Owns Microsoft? Top 10 Largest MSFT Shareholders - Techopedia|date=February 12, 2024 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Shareholder name
!Percentage
|-
|[[The Vanguard Group]]
|8.9%
|-
|[[BlackRock]]
|5.6%
|-
|[[State Street Corporation]]
|4.0%
|-
|[[Steve Ballmer]]
|4.0%
|-
|[[Fidelity Investments]]
|2.9%
|-
|[[Geode Capital Management]]
|2.1%
|-
|[[T. Rowe Price|T. Rowe Price International]]
|1.9%
|-
|[[Eaton Vance]]
|1.7%
|-
|[[JP Morgan|JP Morgan Investment Management]]
|1.6%
|-
|[[Bill Gates]]
|1.4%
|-
|[[BlackRock|BlackRock Life]]
|1.4%
|-
|Others
|68.5%
|}

===Marketing===
[[File:Windows 8 Launch Event in Akihabara, Tokyo.jpg|thumb|[[Windows 8]] Launch Event in [[Akihabara]], [[Tokyo]], on October 25, 2012]]
In 2004, Microsoft commissioned research firms to do independent studies comparing the [[total cost of ownership]] (TCO) of [[Windows Server 2003]] to [[Linux]]; the firms concluded that companies found Windows easier to administrate than Linux, thus those using Windows would administrate faster resulting in lower costs for their company (i.e. lower TCO).<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/business/158237_msftresearch27.html |title=Studies on Linux help their patron: Microsoft |last=Bishop |first=Todd |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=January 27, 2004 |access-date=July 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205010533/http://www.seattlepi.com/business/158237_msftresearch27.html |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> This spurred a wave of related studies; a study by the [[Yankee Group]] concluded that upgrading from one version of Windows Server to another costs a fraction of the [[switching barriers|switching costs]] from Windows Server to Linux, although companies surveyed noted the increased security and reliability of Linux servers and concern about being locked into using Microsoft products.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/operating_systems/yankee_independently_pits_windows_tco_vs_linux_tco.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104134612/http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/operating_systems/yankee_independently_pits_windows_tco_vs_linux_tco.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 4, 2013 |title=Yankee Independently Pits Windows TCO vs. Linux TCO |last=Foley |first=Mary Jo |work=eWeek |date=March 24, 2004 |access-date=July 14, 2010}}</ref> Another study, released by the [[Open Source Development Labs]], claimed that the Microsoft studies were "simply outdated and one-sided" and their survey concluded that the TCO of Linux was lower due to Linux administrators managing more servers on average and other reasons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150210/linux-fans-hit-back-microsoft |title=Linux fans hit back at Microsoft TCO claims |last=Jaques |first=Robert |work=vnunet.com |date=February 13, 2006 |access-date=August 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724013740/http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150210/linux-fans-hit-back-microsoft |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }}</ref>

As part of the "Get the Facts" campaign, Microsoft highlighted the [[.NET Framework]] trading platform that it had developed in partnership with [[Accenture]] for the [[London Stock Exchange]], claiming that it provided "[[High availability|five nines]]" reliability. After suffering extended downtime and unreliability<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/4676369/Seven-hour-LSE-blackout-caused-by-double-glitch.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |title=Seven-hour LSE blackout caused by double glitch |first=Rowena |last=Mason |date=September 10, 2008 |location=London |access-date=April 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225225348/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/4676369/Seven-hour-LSE-blackout-caused-by-double-glitch.html |archive-date=December 25, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |work=[[BBC News Online]] |publisher=BBC |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8380607.stm |title=London Stock Exchange trading hit by technical glitch |date=November 26, 2009 |access-date=September 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726144134/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8380607.stm |archive-date=July 26, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> the London Stock Exchange announced in 2009 that it was planning to drop its Microsoft solution and switch to a Linux-based one in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=ITWire |url=http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/the-linux-distillery/28359-london-stock-exchange-gets-the-facts-and-dumps-windows-for-linux |title=London Stock Exchange gets the facts and dumps Windows for Linux |first=David M. |last=Williams |date=October 8, 2009 |access-date=September 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716005714/http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/the-linux-distillery/28359-london-stock-exchange-gets-the-facts-and-dumps-windows-for-linux |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |publisher=[[Slashdot]] |url=http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/10/06/1742203/London-Stock-Exchange-Rejects-NET-For-Open-Source |title=London Stock Exchange Rejects .NET For Open Source |date=October 6, 2009 |access-date=September 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811012038/http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/10/06/1742203/London-Stock-Exchange-Rejects-NET-For-Open-Source |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2012, Microsoft hired a political pollster named Mark Penn, whom ''The New York Times'' called "famous for bulldozing" his political opponents<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/technology/microsoft-battles-google-by-hiring-political-brawler-mark-penn.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |first1=Nick |last1=Wingfield |title=Microsoft Battles Google by Hiring Political Brawler Mark Penn |date=December 14, 2012 |access-date=February 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312135416/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/technology/microsoft-battles-google-by-hiring-political-brawler-mark-penn.html?_r=0 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> as Executive Vice-president, Advertising and Strategy. Penn created a series of negative advertisements targeting one of Microsoft's chief competitors, [[Google]]. The advertisements, called "[[Scroogled]]", attempted to make the case that Google is "screwing" consumers with search results rigged to favor Google's paid advertisers, that [[Gmail]] violates the privacy of its users to place ad results related to the content of their emails and shopping results, which favor Google products. Tech publications like [[TechCrunch]] were highly critical of the advertising campaign,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/10/scroogled-why-so-negative-microsoft/ |title=Scroogled: Why So Negative, Microsoft? |work=TechCrunch |date=February 10, 2013 |access-date=April 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317120624/http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/10/scroogled-why-so-negative-microsoft/ |archive-date=March 17, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> while Google employees embraced it.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/11/21/googlers-love-microsofts-scroogled-gear-mug-and-shirts-sell-out/ |title=Googlers Love Microsoft's 'Scroogled' Gear. Mug and Shirts Sell Out. |first=Kashmir |last=Hill |date=November 21, 2013 |work=Forbes |access-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729205754/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/11/21/googlers-love-microsofts-scroogled-gear-mug-and-shirts-sell-out/ |archive-date=July 29, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Layoffs===
In July 2014, Microsoft announced plans to lay off 18,000 employees. Microsoft employed 127,104 people as of June 5, 2014, making this about a 14 percent reduction of its workforce as the biggest Microsoft layoff ever. This included 12,500 professional and factory personnel. Previously, Microsoft had eliminated 5,800 jobs in 2009 in line with the [[Great Recession]] of 2008–2017.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/07/17/microsoft-cut-18000-jobs-over-next-year.html |title=Microsoft to cut up to 18,000 jobs over next year |date=July 17, 2014 |access-date=July 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727205526/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/07/17/microsoft-cut-18000-jobs-over-next-year.html |archive-date=July 27, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Layoffs Greater Than Expected: Up to 18,000 Jobs Being Cut |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-layoffs-greater-than-expected-up-to-18-0/1100-6421171/ |publisher=Gamespot |access-date=August 10, 2014 |date=July 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722064908/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-layoffs-greater-than-expected-up-to-18-0/1100-6421171/ |archive-date=July 22, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2014, Microsoft laid off 2,100 people, including 747 people in the Seattle–Redmond area, where the company is headquartered. The firings came as a second wave of the layoffs that were previously announced. This brought the total number to over 15,000 out of the 18,000 expected cuts.<ref>By Alex Wilhelm, TechCrunch. "[https://techcrunch.com/2014/09/18/microsoft-pulls-the-trigger-on-2100-more-layoffs/Microsoft Lays Off 2,100 More Employees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804234324/https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/07/microsoft/ |date=August 4, 2020 }}." September 18, 2014. September 18, 2014.</ref> In October 2014, Microsoft revealed that it was almost done with eliminating 18,000 employees, which was its largest-ever layoff sweep.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Perez |first1=Juan Carlos |title=Microsoft is 'almost' done with its largest-ever layoff sweep |url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/2840872/microsoft-is-almost-done-with-its-largest-ever-layoff-sweep.html |website=[[Computerworld]] |publisher=[[International Data Group]] |date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104135846/http://www.computerworld.com/article/2840872/microsoft-is-almost-done-with-its-largest-ever-layoff-sweep.html |archive-date=November 4, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2015, Microsoft announced another 7,800 job cuts in the next several months.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2015/07/08/microsoft-job-cuts-2015/ |title=Microsoft plans 7,800 layoffs, $7.8 billion Nokia write-down |first=Aaron |last=Souppouris |access-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711025745/http://www.engadget.com/2015/07/08/microsoft-job-cuts-2015/ |archive-date=July 11, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2016, Microsoft announced another 1,850 job cuts mostly in its Nokia mobile phone division. As a result, the company will record an impairment and restructuring charge of approximately $950&nbsp;million, of which approximately $200&nbsp;million will relate to severance payments.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microsoft-announces-streamlining-of-smartphone-hardware-business-300274560.html |title=Microsoft announces streamlining of smartphone hardware business |access-date=November 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202052847/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microsoft-announces-streamlining-of-smartphone-hardware-business-300274560.html |archive-date=December 2, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees in its gaming division in January 2024. The layoffs primarily affected Activision Blizzard employees, but some Xbox and ZeniMax employees were also affected.<ref>{{Cite web|language=en|url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24049050/microsoft-activision-blizzard-layoffs|title=Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees|website=The Verge|date=January 25, 2024 |access-date=January 29, 2024|archive-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125153932/https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24049050/microsoft-activision-blizzard-layoffs}}</ref> Blizzard [[President (corporate title)|president]] Mike Ybarra and [[chief design officer]] [[Allen Adham]] also resigned.<ref>{{Cite web|language=en|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/microsoft-lay-1900-employees-gaming-division-rcna135652|title=Microsoft to lay off 1,900 employees in its gaming division|website=NBC News|date=January 25, 2024 |access-date=January 29, 2024|archive-date=January 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126082142/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/microsoft-lay-1900-employees-gaming-division-rcna135652}}</ref>

In May 2025, Microsoft announced that it is laying off more than 6,000 employees, around three percent of the company's entire workforce.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=May 13, 2025 |title=Microsoft is laying off more than 6,000 employees |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/659401/microsoft-layoffs-three-percent-workforce |access-date=May 17, 2025 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref> In July 2025, Microsoft announced another round of layoffs, cutting approximately 9,000 employees in its largest workforce reduction in over two years. The cuts affected multiple divisions, including [[Xbox]], with 830 positions eliminated at its Redmond, Washington headquarters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2, 2025 |title=Microsoft's largest layoff in years hits Xbox, sales and other divisions |url=https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-layoffs-xbox-f44079957b12370f72e24edebe9fcc6b |access-date=July 7, 2025 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 3, 2025 |title=Microsoft to cut up to 9,000 jobs as it invests in AI |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxl0w1w394o |access-date=July 7, 2025 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Amid the layoffs, Microsoft also announced that it was quitting Pakistan after 25 years of operations.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=July 4, 2025 |title=Microsoft Pakistan shuts down operations after 25 years: Why is tech giant leaving the country? |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2554158/microsoft-shuts-down-operations-in-pakistan-after-25-years |access-date=July 7, 2025 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Malik |first=Abdul Moiz |date=July 5, 2025 |title=Microsoft closes office in Pakistan, lays off staff |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1922163 |access-date=July 7, 2025 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref> While the exit was part of shift in business strategies and preference for cloud based models, the company's exit from Pakistan was also reportedly attributed to "growing difficulties" with the country's business environment.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 5, 2025 |title=Why is Microsoft pulling out of Pakistan after 25 years: Reports |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/esports/news/why-is-microsoft-pulling-out-of-pakistan-after-25-years-reports/articleshow/122267606.cms |access-date=July 7, 2025 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

=== Unions ===
Microsoft [[Microsoft and unions|recognizes seven trade unions]]{{efn|{{unbulleted list citebundle|
[[Game Workers Alliance]] ([[Raven Software]])|
Game Workers Alliance Albany|
Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA|
ZeniMax Workers United/CWA|
OneBGS ([[Bethesda Game Studios]])|
World of Warcraft|
Texas Blizzard QA United-CWA
}}}} representing 1,750 workers in the United States at its video game subsidiaries [[Activision Blizzard]] and [[ZeniMax Media]].<ref name="wow-union">{{Cite news |last=Eidelson |first=Josh |date=July 24, 2024 |title=Microsoft's 'World of Warcraft' Gaming Staff Votes to Unionize |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-24/world-of-warcraft-unionizes-growing-foothold-at-microsoft-s-activision-blizzard |access-date=July 24, 2024 |work=[[Bloomberg.com]] |language=en}}</ref> U.S. workers have been vocal in opposing military and law-enforcement [[List of United States defense contractors|contracts]] with Microsoft.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Birnbaum |first=Emily |date=June 10, 2020 |title=Microsoft employees are pushing for change. Will it matter? |url=https://www.protocol.com/microsoft-employee-protest-police-contracts |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002171913/https://www.protocol.com/microsoft-employee-protest-police-contracts |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |access-date=June 26, 2022 |website=[[Protocol (news)]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Bethesda Game Studios]] is unionized in [[Microsoft and unions#Canada|Canada]].<ref name="CWACanada2024">{{Cite web |date=August 16, 2024 |title=Bethesda Game Studios Workers Win Labour Board Certification, Officially Join CWA Canada |url=https://cwacanada.ca/2024/08/16/bethesda-game-studios-workers-win-labour-board-certification-officially-join-cwa-canada/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816130635/https://cwacanada.ca/2024/08/16/bethesda-game-studios-workers-win-labour-board-certification-officially-join-cwa-canada/ |archive-date=August 16, 2024 |access-date=August 19, 2024 |website=[[Communications Workers of America|CWA Canada]] |language=en}}</ref> Microsoft [[Microsoft and unions#South Korea|South Korea]] has recognized its [[Trade union|union]] since 2017.<ref name="UNI Global Union">{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Korea Workers' Union votes to strike over wages and disregard for workers' sacrifice during pandemic |url=https://uniglobalunion.org/news/microsoft-korea-workers-union-votes-to-strike-over-wages-and-disregard-for-workers-sacrifice-during-pandemic/ |access-date=June 26, 2022 |website=[[UNI Global Union]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Jiseon |date=October 17, 2017 |title=South Korea Oracle Establishes Its First Labor Union |url=https://english.etnews.com/20171017200001?SNS=00002 |access-date=June 26, 2022 |website=ETNEWS |language=en}}</ref> [[Microsoft and unions#Germany|German]] employees have elected [[works council]]s since 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richter |first=Isabel |date=September 1, 2014 |title=Microsoft Deutschland führt "Vertrauensarbeitsort" ein |trans-title=Microsoft Germany introduces "trusted workplace |url=https://news.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoft-deutschland-fhrt-vertrauensarbeitsort-ein/ |access-date=September 22, 2023 |website=Microsoft Germany |language=de}}</ref>

===United States government===
Microsoft provides information about reported bugs in its software to intelligence agencies of the United States government, prior to the public release of the fix. A Microsoft spokesperson stated that the corporation runs several programs that facilitate the sharing of such information with the U.S. government.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/u-s-agencies-said-to-swap-data-with-thousands-of-firms.html |title=U.S. Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms |work=Bloomberg |date=June 15, 2013 |access-date=March 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112075940/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/u-s-agencies-said-to-swap-data-with-thousands-of-firms.html |archive-date=January 12, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Following media reports about [[PRISM (surveillance program)|PRISM]], NSA's massive electronic [[Mass surveillance|surveillance program]], in May 2013, several technology companies were identified as participants, including Microsoft.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Ryan W. |last=Neal |title=Snowden Reveals Microsoft PRISM Cooperation: Helped NSA Decrypt Emails, Chats, Skype Conversations |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/snowden-reveals-microsoft-prism-cooperation-helped-nsa-decrypt-emails-chats-skype-conversations |work=[[International Business Times]] |date=July 11, 2013 |access-date=November 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203124001/http://www.ibtimes.com/snowden-reveals-microsoft-prism-cooperation-helped-nsa-decrypt-emails-chats-skype-conversations |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to leaks of said program, Microsoft joined the PRISM program in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Greenwald |first1=Glenn |last2=MacAskill |first2=Ewen |title=NSA Prism program taps into user data of Apple, Google and others |date=June 7, 2013 |work=[[The Guardian]]  |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data |access-date=April 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data |archive-date=August 18, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, in June 2013, an official statement from Microsoft flatly denied its participation in the program: {{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% | text="We provide customer data only when we receive a legally binding order or subpoena to do so, and never on a voluntary basis. In addition, we only ever comply with orders for requests about specific accounts or identifiers. If the government has a broader voluntary national security program to gather customer data, we don't participate in it."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Kevin |last2=Martin |first2=Scott |last3=O'Donnell |first3=Jayne |last4=Winter |first4=Michael |title=Reports: NSA Siphons Data from 9 Major Net Firms |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/06/nsa-surveillance-internet-companies/2398345/ |access-date=June 6, 2013 |work=[[USA Today]] |date=June 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607113440/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/06/nsa-surveillance-internet-companies/2398345/ |archive-date=June 7, 2013 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>}}

During the first six months of 2013, Microsoft received requests that affected between 15,000 and 15,999 accounts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft, Facebook, Google and Yahoo release US surveillance requests |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/03/microsoft-facebook-google-yahoo-fisa-surveillance-requests |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=February 3, 2014 |access-date=December 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106175615/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/03/microsoft-facebook-google-yahoo-fisa-surveillance-requests |archive-date=January 6, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2013, the company made a statement to further emphasize that it takes its customers' privacy and [[Information privacy|data protection]] very seriously, saying that "government snooping potentially now constitutes an '[[advanced persistent threat]],' alongside sophisticated malware and cyber attacks".<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Brad |title=Protecting customer data from government snooping |url=http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2013/12/04/protecting-customer-data-from-government-snooping/ |website=The Official Microsoft Blog |access-date=January 1, 2015 |date=December 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224072247/http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2013/12/04/protecting-customer-data-from-government-snooping/ |archive-date=December 24, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The statement also marked the beginning of three-part program to enhance Microsoft's encryption and transparency efforts. On July 1, 2014, as part of this program, it opened the first (of many) Microsoft Transparency Center, which provides "participating governments with the ability to review [[source code]] for our key products, assure themselves of their software integrity, and confirm there are no "[[Backdoor (computing)|back doors]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Thomlinson |first1=Matt |title=Advancing our encryption and transparency efforts |url=http://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2014/07/01/advancing-our-encryption-and-transparency-efforts/ |website=Microsoft on the Issues |access-date=January 1, 2015 |date=July 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101183639/http://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2014/07/01/advancing-our-encryption-and-transparency-efforts/ |archive-date=January 1, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft has also argued that the [[United States Congress]] should enact strong privacy regulations to protect consumer data.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Heiner |first1=David |title=Request for Comment: Big Data and Consumer Privacy in the Internet Economy |url=http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/microsoft.pdf |website=National Telecommunications and Information Administration |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=August 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814113914/http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/microsoft.pdf |archive-date=August 14, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2016, the company [[Microsoft v. United States (2016)|sued the U.S. government]], argued that secrecy orders were preventing the company from disclosing warrants to customers in violation of the company's and customers' rights. Microsoft argued that it was unconstitutional for the government to indefinitely ban Microsoft from informing its users that the government was requesting their emails and other documents and that the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]] made it so people or businesses had the right to know if the government searches or seizes their property. On October 23, 2017, Microsoft said it would drop the lawsuit as a result of a policy change by the [[United States Department of Justice]] (DoJ). The DoJ had "changed data request rules on alerting the Internet users about agencies accessing their information."

In 2022 Microsoft shared a $9 billion contract from the [[United States Department of Defense]] for cloud computing with Amazon, Google, and Oracle.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farrell |first1=Maureen |title=Pentagon Divides Big Cloud-Computing Deal Among 4 Firms |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/business/pentagon-cloud-contracts-jwcc.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 7, 2022}}</ref>

=== Security challenges ===

On a Friday afternoon in January 2024, Microsoft disclosed that a Russian state-sponsored group hacked into its corporate systems. The group, accessed "a very small percentage" of Microsoft corporate email accounts, which also included members of its senior leadership team and employees in its cybersecurity and legal teams.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft says Russian state-sponsored hackers spied on its executives |website=[[Reuters]] |date=January 19, 2024 |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/microsoft-says-it-was-hacked-by-russian-state-sponsored-group-2024-01-19/ |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Zeba |last2=Bing |first2=Christopher |last3=Bing |first3=Christopher }}</ref> Microsoft noted in a blog post that the attack might have been prevented if the accounts in question had enabled [[multi-factor authentication]], a defensive measure which is widely recommended in the industry, including by Microsoft itself.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Intelligence |first=Microsoft Threat |date=January 26, 2024 |title=Midnight Blizzard: Guidance for responders on nation-state attack |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/01/25/midnight-blizzard-guidance-for-responders-on-nation-state-attack/ |access-date=February 10, 2024 |website=Microsoft Security Blog |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Corporate identity==
===Corporate culture===
{{quote|[T]he Microsoft method. Understand the market, and the customers, and then go pedal to the metal, with release after release focused on what the customers need, incorporating their feedback. That puts the competition into reaction mode. And of course it helps if they also make a strategic error because they are under so much pressure.|Chris Pratley of Microsoft, 2004<ref name="pratley20040427">{{Cite web |last=Pratley |first=Chris |date=2004-04-27 |title=Let's talk about Word |url=http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2004/04/27/120944.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040501015758/http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2004/04/27/120944.aspx/ |archive-date=2004-05-01 |website=Chris_Pratley's WebLog}}</ref>}}

Technical references for developers and articles for various Microsoft magazines such as ''[[Microsoft Systems Journal]]'' (''MSJ'') are available through the [[Microsoft Developer Network]] (MSDN). MSDN also offers subscriptions for companies and individuals, and the more expensive subscriptions usually offer access to pre-release beta versions of Microsoft software.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ms123402.aspx?missingurl=%2fsubscriptions%2ffaq%2fdefault.aspx |publisher=Microsoft |title=MSDN Subscription FAQ |access-date=July 3, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112083150/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ms123402.aspx?missingurl=%2Fsubscriptions%2Ffaq%2Fdefault.aspx |archive-date=January 12, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/msj/ |title=Microsoft Systems Journal Homepage |publisher=Microsoft |date=April 15, 2004 |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725152056/http://www.microsoft.com/msj/ |archive-date=July 25, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In April 2004, Microsoft launched a community site for developers and users, titled [[Channel 9 (Microsoft)|Channel 9]], that provides a [[wiki]] and an [[Internet forum]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hobson |first=Neville |url=http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2005/04/11/microsofts-channel-and-cultural-rules |title=Microsoft's Channel 9 And Cultural Rules |work=WebProNews |publisher=iEntry Inc |date=April 11, 2005 |access-date=July 3, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420185313/http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2005/04/11/microsofts-channel-and-cultural-rules |archive-date=April 20, 2008}}</ref> Another community site that provides daily [[Podcast#Video podcasts|videocasts]] and other services, On10.net, launched on March 3, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.On10.net |title=On10.net homepage |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=May 4, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428070407/http://www.on10.net/ |archive-date=April 28, 2006}}</ref> Free technical support is traditionally provided through online [[Usenet]] newsgroups, and [[CompuServe]] in the past, monitored by Microsoft employees; there can be several newsgroups for a single product. Helpful people can be elected by peers or Microsoft employees for [[Microsoft Most Valuable Professional]] (MVP) status, which entitles them to a sort of special social status and possibilities for awards and other benefits.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/06/13/somehow_usenet_lumbers_on/ |title=Somehow, Usenet lumbers on |last=Bray |first=Hiawatha |date=June 13, 2005 |access-date=July 3, 2006 |work=The Boston Globe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322135139/http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/06/13/somehow_usenet_lumbers_on |archive-date=March 22, 2009}}</ref>

Noted for its internal [[lexicon]], the expression "[[eating your own dog food]]" is used to describe the policy of using pre-release and beta versions of products inside Microsoft to test them in "real-world" situations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft tests its own dog food |url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5047467.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108214545/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5047467.html |archive-date=January 8, 2007 |work=[[ZDNet]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |date=July 21, 2003 |access-date=October 9, 2005}}</ref> This is usually shortened to just "dog food" and is used as a noun, verb, and adjective. Another bit of [[jargon]], [[FYIFV]] or FYIV ("[[Fuck]] You, I'm [Fully] Vested"), is used by an employee to indicate they are [[financial independence|financially independent]] and can avoid work anytime they wish.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Heilemann |first=John |author-link=John Heilemann |title=The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth |url=https://www.wired.com/2000/11/microsoft-7/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]  |date=November 2000 |access-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724133013/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.11/microsoft_pr.html |archive-date=July 24, 2008}}</ref>

Microsoft is an outspoken opponent of the cap on [[H-1B visa]]s, which allows companies in the U.S. to employ certain foreign workers. Bill Gates claims the cap on H1B visas makes it difficult to hire employees for the company, stating "I'd certainly get rid of the H1B cap" in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3500986 |title=Gates Rakes Congress on H1B Visa Cap |last=Mark |first=Roy |work=internetnews.com |date=April 27, 2005 |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610153421/http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3500986 |archive-date=June 10, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Critics of H1B visas argue that relaxing the limits would result in increased unemployment for U.S. citizens due to H1B workers working for lower salaries.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88154016 |title=Bill Gates Targets Visa Rules for Tech Workers |work=NPR |date=March 12, 2008 |access-date=July 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100424010916/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88154016 |archive-date=April 24, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Human Rights Campaign]] Corporate Equality Index, a report of how progressive the organization deems company policies towards [[LGBT]] employees, rated Microsoft as 87% from 2002 to 2004 and as 100% from 2005 to 2010 after it allowed gender expression.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corporate Equality Index Archive |url=http://www.hrc.org/about_us/7115.htm |publisher=Human Rights Campaign Foundation |access-date=July 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703003315/http://www.hrc.org/about_us/7115.htm |archive-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref>

In August 2018, Microsoft implemented a policy for all companies providing subcontractors to require 12 weeks of paid parental leave to each employee. This expands on the former requirement from 2015 requiring 15 days of paid vacation and sick leave each year.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Dreyfuss |first1=Emily |title=Will Others Follow Microsoft's Lead on Paid Parental Leave? |url=https://www.wired.com/story/will-others-follow-microsoft-on-paid-parental-leave/ |access-date=September 1, 2018 |publisher=WIRED |date=August 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901114448/https://www.wired.com/story/will-others-follow-microsoft-on-paid-parental-leave/ |archive-date=September 1, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, Microsoft established its own parental leave policy to allow 12 weeks off for parental leave with an additional 8 weeks for the parent who gave birth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kastrenakes |first1=Jacob |title=Microsoft says its US contractors must offer paid parental leave |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/31/17806726/microsoft-supplier-paid-parental-leave-requirement |access-date=September 1, 2018 |website=The Verge |date=August 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901155850/https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/31/17806726/microsoft-supplier-paid-parental-leave-requirement |archive-date=September 1, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Environment===
In 2011, [[Greenpeace]] released a report rating the top ten big brands in [[cloud computing]] on the sources of electricity for their [[data center]]s. At the time, data centers consumed up to 2% of all global electricity, and this amount was projected to increase. [[Phil Radford]] of Greenpeace said, "We are concerned that this new explosion in electricity use could lock us into old, polluting energy sources instead of the clean energy available today",<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=[[Greenpeace]] |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2011/Cool%20IT/dirty-data-report-greenpeace.pdf |title=Dirty Data Report Card |access-date=August 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910205409/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2011/Cool%20IT/dirty-data-report-greenpeace.pdf |archive-date=September 10, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> and called on "Amazon, Microsoft and other leaders of the information-technology industry must embrace clean energy to power their cloud-based data centers".<ref>[http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2018176038_guest10radford.html "Amazon, Microsoft: Let's keep 'the cloud' clean"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204074032/http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2018176038_guest10radford.html |date=December 4, 2013}}, Phil Radford</ref> In 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy power generated by a Texas wind project to power one of its data centers.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/04/microsoft-wind-powered-data-centre "Microsoft looks to boost eco credentials with wind-powered data centre"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106175010/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/04/microsoft-wind-powered-data-centre |date=January 6, 2017}}, Suzanne Goldenberg</ref>

Microsoft is ranked on the 17th place in Greenpeace's ''Guide to Greener Electronics'' (16th Edition) that ranks 18 electronics manufacturers according to its policies on toxic chemicals, recycling, and climate change.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/Previous-Edition-October-2010/ |title=Guide to Greener Electronics&nbsp;– Greenpeace International (16th Edition) |publisher=Greenpeace International |access-date=April 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331130430/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/Previous-Edition-October-2010/ |archive-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref> Microsoft's timeline for phasing out [[brominated flame retardant]] (BFRs) and [[phthalate]]s in all products was 2012 but its commitment to phasing out [[Polyvinyl chloride|PVC]] is not clear. {{As of|2011|01|post=,}} it has no products that are completely free from PVC and BFRs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/toxics/2010/version16/Ranking%20tables%20Oct%202010-Microsoft.pdf |title=Ranking tables October 2010&nbsp;– Greenpeace International |publisher=Greenpeace International |access-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128162332/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/toxics/2010/version16/Ranking%20tables%20Oct%202010-Microsoft.pdf |archive-date=January 28, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{update inline|date=March 2024}}

Microsoft's main U.S. campus received a silver certification from the [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design]] (LEED) program in 2008, and it installed over 2,000 [[solar panel]]s on top of its buildings at its [[Silicon Valley]] campus, generating approximately 15 percent of the total energy needed by the facilities in April 2005.<ref name="news1">{{Cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/Microsoft-vs.-Google-Whos-greener/2100-1022_3-6080297.html?tag=mncol;txt |title=Microsoft vs. Google: Who's greener? |work=CNET |publisher=CBS Interactive |last=Mills |first=Elinor |date=June 6, 2008 |access-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref> Microsoft makes use of alternative forms of transit. It created one of the world's largest private bus systems, the "Connector", to transport people from outside the company; for on-campus transportation, the "Shuttle Connect" uses a large fleet of hybrid cars to save fuel. The "Connector" does not compete with the public bus system and works with it to provide a cohesive transportation network not just for its employees but also for the public.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garrett |first=Mark |title=Encyclopedia of Transportation: Social Science and Policy |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4833-4651-9 |location=Los Angeles, CA |pages=390 |language=en}}</ref>

Microsoft also subsidizes regional [[public transport]], provided by [[Sound Transit]] and [[King County Metro]], as an incentive.<ref name="news1" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/environment/our_commitment/articles/alternative_commuting.aspx |title=Fostering Alternative Ways to Commute at Microsoft |publisher=Microsoft |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501154211/http://www.microsoft.com/environment/our_commitment/articles/alternative_commuting.aspx |archive-date=May 1, 2008}}</ref> In February 2010, however, Microsoft took a stance against adding additional public transport and [[high-occupancy vehicle lane|high-occupancy vehicle]] (HOV) lanes to the [[Washington State Route 520|State Route 520]] and [[Evergreen Point Floating Bridge|its floating bridge]] connecting Redmond to Seattle; the company did not want to delay the construction any further.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.king5.com/news/Microsofts-big-520-advertisement-85031317.html |work=King5 Television News |title=Seattle hires consultant to look at 520 bridge plan |date=February 23, 2010 |access-date=July 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226123840/http://www.king5.com/news/Microsofts-big-520-advertisement-85031317.html |archive-date=February 26, 2010 }}</ref> Microsoft was ranked number 1 in the list of the World's Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2016631709_microsoft_named_best_multinational_workplace_by_gr.html |title=Microsoft Pri0 &#124; Microsoft named best multinational workplace |publisher=Seattle Times Newspaper |date=October 28, 2011 |access-date=November 3, 2011 |first=Janet I. |last=Tu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711115601/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2016631709_microsoft_named_best_multinational_workplace_by_gr.html |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2020, the company announced a strategy to take the company [[Carbon footprint|carbon negative]] by 2030 and to [[Carbon dioxide removal|remove all carbon]] that it has emitted since its foundation in 1975.<ref>{{cite news|last=Domonoske|first=Camila|date=January 16, 2020|title=Microsoft Pledges To Remove From The Atmosphere All The Carbon It Has Ever Emitted|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796758230/microsoft-pledges-to-remove-from-the-atmosphere-all-the-carbon-its-ever-emitted|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Calma|first=Justine|date=January 16, 2020|title=Microsoft wants to capture all of the carbon dioxide it's ever emitted|website=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/16/21068799/microsoft-carbon-capture-climate-change|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Calma|first=Justine|date=January 28, 2021|title=Microsoft made a giant climate pledge one year ago — here's where it's at now|website=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/28/22254483/microsoft-climate-change-pledge-update-carbon-dioxide-removal|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> On October 9, 2020, Microsoft permanently allowed [[remote work]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/microsofts-work-from-home-to-become-permanent |last=Ciaccia |first=Chris |title=Microsoft's work-from-home policy to become permanent  |website=[[FOX Business]] |date=October 9, 2020}}</ref> In January 2021, the company announced on [[Twitter]] to join the [[Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact]], which engages the cloud infrastructure and data centers industries to reach [[carbon neutrality]] in Europe by 2030, and also disclosed an investment in [[Climeworks]], a [[direct air capture]] company partnered with [[Carbfix]] for [[carbon sequestration]].{{refn|group=list|name=MicrosoftClimeworks|<ref>{{cite news|last=Geman|first=Ben|date=January 28, 2021|title=Microsoft backs direct air capture player Climeworks|website=Axios|url=https://www.axios.com/2021/01/28/microsoft-climate-change-climeworks-carbon|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Calma|first=Justine|date=September 9, 2021|title=How the largest direct air capture plant will suck {{CO2}} out of the atmosphere|website=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/9/22663597/largest-direct-air-capture-plant-c02-climeworks-iceland|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Joppa|first1=Lucas|last2=Luers|first2=Amy|last3=Willmott|first3=Elizabeth|last4=Friedmann|first4=S. Julio|last5=Hamburg|first5=Steven P.|last6=Broze|first6=Rafael|date=September 29, 2021|title=Microsoft's million-tonne {{CO2}}-removal purchase — lessons for net zero|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=597|issue=7878 |pages=629–632|doi=10.1038/d41586-021-02606-3 |bibcode=2021Natur.597..629J |s2cid=238229298 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02606-3|access-date=July 14, 2022 |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Brabant|first=Malcolm|title=To combat climate change, these scientists are turning CO2 into rock|date=August 23, 2016|work=PBS NewsHour|publisher=WETA-TV|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/combat-climate-change-scientists-turning-co2-rock|access-date=July 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Clifford|first=Catherine|date=June 28, 2022|title=From milligrams to gigatons: Startup that sucks carbon dioxide from the air is building a big plant in Iceland|publisher=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/28/climeworks-carbon-dioxide-removal-company-building-iceland-plant.html|access-date=November 27, 2022}}</ref>}} In the same year, it was awarded the EPA's Green Power Leadership Award, citing the company's [[100% renewable energy|all-renewable energy use]] since 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=May 14, 2021 |title=Green Power Leadership Awardees |url=https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-leadership-awardees |access-date=June 29, 2023 |website=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |language=en}}</ref>

In September 2023, Microsoft announced that it purchased $200 million in [[Carbon offsets and credits|carbon credits to offset]] 315,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 10 years from Heirloom Carbon, a carbon removal company that mixes [[calcium oxide]] from heated crushed [[limestone]] with [[water]] to form [[Orthocarbonic acid|carbon hydroxide]] to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to [[Mineralization (soil science)|mineralize]] back into limestone while the released carbon dioxide is [[Carbon capture and storage|stored underground]] or [[Environmental impact of concrete#Carbon concrete|injected into concrete]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ramkumar|first1=Amrith|date=September 7, 2023|title=Microsoft Will Use Carbon-Absorbing Rocks to Meet Climate Goals|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/microsoft-will-use-carbon-absorbing-rocks-to-meet-climate-goals-57ea802a|access-date=September 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Olick|first=Diana|date=December 5, 2022|title=Microsoft-backed start-up Heirloom uses limestone to capture CO2|publisher=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/microsoft-backed-start-up-heirloom-uses-limestone-to-capture-co2.html|access-date=September 12, 2023}}</ref> Despite spending spent more than $760 million through its Climate Innovation Fund by June 2024 on sustainability projects—including purchases of more than 5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide removal with carbon offsets and more than 34 megawatts of renewable energy—Microsoft's [[Carbon accounting|Scope 3 emissions]] had increased by 31% from the company's 2020 baseline, which caused the company's total emissions to rise by 29% in 2023.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cleveland-Peck|first=Perry|date=June 26, 2024|title=Microsoft Wrestles With Rising Emissions From AI Ahead of Its 2030 Carbon-Negative Goal|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corp|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-wrestles-with-rising-emissions-from-ai-ahead-of-its-2030-net-zero-goal-b53d4cf4|access-date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>

In 2023 Microsoft consumed 24 TWh of electricity, more than countries such as Iceland, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, or Tunisia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hale |first1=Craig |title=Google and Microsoft now each consume more power than some fairly big countries |url=https://www.techradar.com/pro/google-and-microsoft-now-each-consume-more-power-than-some-fairly-big-countries |work=TechRadar |date=July 15, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

===Headquarters===
[[File:Building92microsoft.jpg|thumb|Building 92, home to the Microsoft Visitor Center]]
The corporate headquarters, informally known as the [[Microsoft Redmond campus]], is located at One Microsoft Way in Redmond, Washington.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Microsoft Investor Relations - FAQs |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/faq.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250421185334/https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/faq |archive-date=April 21, 2025 |website=Microsoft}}</ref> Microsoft initially moved onto the grounds of the campus on February 26, 1986, weeks before the company went public on March 13. The headquarters has since experienced multiple expansions since its establishment. It is estimated to encompass over 8&nbsp;million ft<sup>2</sup> (750,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>) of office space and 30,000–40,000 employees.<ref>[https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/inside_ms.mspx Fast Facts About Microsoft] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809015659/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/inside_ms.mspx |date=August 9, 2007}}. Microsoft.com. Retrieved on August 25, 2013.</ref> Additional offices are located in [[Bellevue, Washington|Bellevue]] and [[Issaquah, Washington]] (90,000 employees worldwide). The company is planning to upgrade its Mountain View, California, campus on a grand scale. The company has occupied this campus since 1981. In 2016, the company bought the {{convert|32|acre|adj=on}} campus, with plans to renovate and expand it by 25%.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Microsoft To Buy, Expand Mountain View Campus |url=https://www.bisnow.com/silicon-valley/news/office/microsoft-to-buy-expand-mountain-view-campus-54959 |first=Allison |last=Nagel |work=[[Bisnow Media]] |date=January 25, 2016 |access-date=February 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204074800/https://www.bisnow.com/silicon-valley/news/office/microsoft-to-buy-expand-mountain-view-campus-54959 |archive-date=February 4, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Microsoft operates an East Coast headquarters in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://safway.com/Projects/Commercial/microsoft.asp?timeline=renovation |title=Microsoft East Coast Headquarters—Safway Services |website=safway.com |access-date=March 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329050044/http://safway.com/Projects/Commercial/microsoft.asp?timeline=renovation |archive-date=March 29, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In April 2024, it was announced that Microsoft would be opening a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence 'hub' around Paddington in London, England. It was announced that the division would be led by Jordan Hoffman, who previously worked for [[Google DeepMind|Deepmind]] and [[Inflection AI|Inflection]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Guy |date=April 8, 2024 |title=London set for AI tech boost as Microsoft to open state-of-the-art Paddington hub |url=https://www.cityam.com/london-set-for-ai-tech-boost-as-microsoft-to-open-state-of-the-art-paddington-hub/ |access-date=April 11, 2024 |website=CityAM |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Flagship stores===
[[File:TorontoMicrosoftStore8.JPG|thumb|Microsoft's [[Toronto]] flagship store]]

On October 26, 2015, the company opened its retail location on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The location features a five-story glass storefront and is 22,270 square feet.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Your First Look at Microsoft's Massive New Flagship Store |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/10/microsofts-hands-on-flagship-store-opens-on-fifth-avenue/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]  |access-date=October 27, 2015 |date=October 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027110340/http://www.wired.com/2015/10/microsofts-hands-on-flagship-store-opens-on-fifth-avenue/ |archive-date=October 27, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> As per company executives, Microsoft had been on the lookout for a flagship location since 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Keiko |title=Microsoft Opens Flagship Store on Fifth Avenue |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-opens-flagship-store-on-fifth-avenue-1445823629 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=October 26, 2015 |access-date=October 27, 2015 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026172634/http://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-opens-flagship-store-on-fifth-avenue-1445823629 |archive-date=October 26, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The company's retail locations are part of a greater strategy to help build a connection with its consumers. The opening of the store coincided with the launch of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft opens the doors to its New York City flagship store |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/26/9617520/microsoft-store-nyc-opening-fifth-avenue-flagship |website=The Verge |date=October 26, 2015 |access-date=October 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026221011/http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/26/9617520/microsoft-store-nyc-opening-fifth-avenue-flagship |archive-date=October 26, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> On November 12, 2015, Microsoft opened a second flagship store, located in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-to-open-flagship-store-in-sydney/ |title=Microsoft to open a flagship store in Sydney |date=April 21, 2015 |last=Chanthadavong |first=Aimee |website=[[ZDNet]] |access-date=December 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101064431/http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-to-open-flagship-store-in-sydney/ |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Logo===
Microsoft adopted the so-called "''[[Pac-Man]]'' Logo", designed by Scott Baker, on February 26, 1987, with the concept being similar to [[InFocus|InFocus Corporation]] logo that was adapted a year earlier in 1986. Baker stated "The new logo, in [[Helvetica]] italic typeface, has a slash between the ''o'' and ''s'' to emphasize the "soft" part of the name and convey motion and speed".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jha |first=Lakshman |date=2008 |title=Customer Relationship Management: A Strategic Approach |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbnZwhUjlF0C |publisher=Global India Publications |page=218 |isbn=978-81-907211-2-7 |access-date=May 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323120123/https://books.google.com/books?id=NbnZwhUjlF0C |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Dave Norris ran an internal joke campaign to save the old logo, which was green, in all uppercase, and featured a fanciful letter ''O'', nicknamed the ''blibbet'', but it was discarded.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/larryosterman/remember-the-blibbet |title=Remember the blibbet |work=Larry Osterman's WebLog |publisher=Microsoft |last=Osterman |first=Larry |date=July 14, 2005 |access-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803222257/http://blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman/archive/2005/07/14/438777.aspx |archive-date=August 3, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Microsoft's logo with the tagline "Your potential. Our passion."—below the main corporate name—is based on a slogan Microsoft used in 2008. In 2002, the company started using the logo in the United States and eventually started a television campaign with the slogan, changed from the previous tagline of ''"[[Where do you want to go today?]]"''<ref name="wherego1">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.12/redmond.html |title=The Rise and Rise of the Redmond Empire |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]  |date=December 1998 |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106035359/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.12/redmond.html |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="potentialpassion1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising/mccann-thinks-local-global-microsoft-83426 |title=McCann Thinks Local for Global Microsoft |last=Schmelzer |first=Randi |work=Adweek |date=January 9, 2006 |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828202545/http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising/mccann-thinks-local-global-microsoft-83426 |archive-date=August 28, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060123-6031.html |title=Microsoft set to launch new marketing campaign |work=Ars Technica Digital |last=Reimer |first=Jeremy |date=January 23, 2006 |access-date=August 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918080347/http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060123-6031.html |archive-date=September 18, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the private MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) conference in 2010, Microsoft unveiled the company's next tagline, ''"Be What's Next."''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2010/07/22/new-microsoft-brand-logos-company-tagline-revealed-at-mgx-event/ |title=New Microsoft brand logos, company tagline revealed at MGX event? (update: no new logos, the tagline is a go) |first=Joshua |last=Topolsky |author-link=Joshua Topolsky |work=[[Engadget]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |date=July 22, 2010 |access-date=August 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816001625/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/22/new-microsoft-brand-logos-company-tagline-revealed-at-mgx-event |archive-date=August 16, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> It also had a slogan/tagline "Making it all make sense."<ref>{{Cite book |author=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |title=InfoWorld |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4FAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT26 |year=1991 |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |page=26 |access-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323120125/https://books.google.com/books?id=4FAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT26 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Microsoft ''Pac-Man'' logo was used for 25 years, 5 months, and 28 days until August 23, 2012, being the longest enduring logo to be used by the company.

On August 23, 2012, Microsoft unveiled a new corporate logo at the opening of its 23rd Microsoft store in Boston, indicating the company's shift of focus from the classic style to the tile-centric modern interface, which it uses/will use on the Windows Phone platform, Xbox 360, Windows 8 and the upcoming Office Suites.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meisner |first=Jeffrey |url=http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/08/23/microsoft-unveils-a-new-look.aspx |title=Microsoft Unveils a New Look |publisher=The Official Microsoft Blog |date=August 23, 2012 |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825012157/http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/08/23/microsoft-unveils-a-new-look.aspx |archive-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref> The new logo also includes four squares with the colors of the then-current Windows logo which have been used to represent Microsoft's four major products: Windows (blue), Office (orange), Xbox (green) and Bing (yellow).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eric |first=Steven H. |url=http://flapship.com/new-microsoft-logo-revealed/ |title=NEW MICROSOFT LOGO REVEALED |publisher=Flapship.com |date=August 23, 2012 |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825174050/http://flapship.com/new-microsoft-logo-revealed/ |archive-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref> The logo also resembles the opening of one of the commercials for [[Windows 95]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wpcentral.com/microsofts-new-logo-has-ties-past |title=Microsoft's new logo has ties to the past |date=August 23, 2012 |access-date=September 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053328/http://www.wpcentral.com/microsofts-new-logo-has-ties-past |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft039s-logo-is-not-new-it039s-from-1995 |title=Microsoft's logo is not new, it's from 1995 |access-date=September 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728155634/http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft039s-logo-is-not-new-it039s-from-1995 |archive-date=July 28, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths="200" caption="Microsoft logo history">
File:Microsoft logo (1975).svg|{{Circa|1975}} – 1980: First Microsoft logo.
File:Microsoft logo (1980).svg|1980 – June 25, 1982: Second Microsoft logo.
File:Microsoft Logo Historical.svg|June 25, 1982 – February 26, 1987: Third Microsoft logo.
File:Microsoft logo (1987).svg|February 26, 1987 – August 23, 2012: Microsoft "''[[Pac-Man]]''" logo, designed by Scott Baker.<ref name="wherego1" /><ref name="potentialpassion1" />
File:Microsoft logo and wordmark.svg|August 23, 2012 – present: Fifth and current Microsoft logo.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/08/23/microsoft-unveils-a-new-look.aspx |title=Microsoft Unveils a New Look |work=Microsoft |date=August 2012 |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825012157/http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/08/23/microsoft-unveils-a-new-look.aspx |archive-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref>
</gallery>

===Sponsorship===
[[File:Toyota Yaris WRC.jpg|thumb|[[Toyota Yaris WRC]] with sprayed on Microsoft logos|alt=Toyota Yaris WRC.jpg]]
The company was the official jersey sponsor of [[Finland national basketball team|Finland's national basketball team]] at [[EuroBasket 2015]],<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150928112312/http://www.eurobasket2015.org/en/compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2015.roundID_9322.teamID_281.html Finland {{!}} EuroBasket 2015]}}, FIBA.com, Retrieved September 27, 2015.</ref> a major sponsor of the [[Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT]] ([[2017 WRC|2017]]–[[2020 World Rally Championship|2020]]) and a sponsor of the [[Renault F1 Team]] ([[2016 Formula One World Championship|2016]]–[[2020 Formula One World Championship|2020]]).

===Lobbying and political influence===
In 2025, Microsoft was one of the donors who funded the [[East Wing#2025 demolition|demolition of the East Wing of the White House]] and planned building of a ballroom.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maher |first1=Kit |last2=Tapper |first2=Jake |last3=Jaramillo |first3=Alejandra |title=White House releases list of donors for Trump's multi-million-dollar ballroom |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/ballroom-donors-white-house-trump |access-date=23 October 2025 |work=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251023104311/https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/ballroom-donors-white-house-trump |archive-date=October 23, 2025}}</ref>

===Philanthropy===
In 2015, Microsoft Philanthropies, an internal charitable organization, was established to bring the benefits of technology and the digital revolution to areas and groups that lack them. The organisation's key areas of focus are: donating cloud computing resources to university researchers and nonprofit groups; supporting the expansion of broadband access worldwide; funding international computer science education through YouthSpark; supporting tech education in the U.S. from kindergarten to high school; and donating to global child and refugee relief organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|language=en|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2015/new-microsoft-philanthropies-group-will-focus-heavily-on-digital-inclusion/|title=New 'Microsoft Philanthropies' organization will focus on digital inclusion|website=Geekwire|date=December 15, 2015 |access-date=January 29, 2024|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129035758/https://www.geekwire.com/2015/new-microsoft-philanthropies-group-will-focus-heavily-on-digital-inclusion/?__cf_chl_tk=kHhRjuofdsTnKaBUOKZ0Tu5JOcIpeGyLZEzer7pJZKY-1706500663-0-gaNycGzNERA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|language=en|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2017/from-man-bun-shearing-to-carpool-karaoke-with-execs-microsoft-employees-fund-record-breaking-donations/|title=Microsoft employees donate a record $142M to non-profits, and have a lot of fun along the way|website=Geekwire|date=March 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2024|archive-date=January 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129040029/https://www.geekwire.com/2017/from-man-bun-shearing-to-carpool-karaoke-with-execs-microsoft-employees-fund-record-breaking-donations/}}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Microsoft's president, [[Brad Smith (American lawyer)|Brad Smith]], announced that it had donated an initial batch of supplies, including 15,000 protection goggles, [[infrared thermometer]]s, medical caps, and protective suits, to healthcare workers in Seattle, with further aid to come.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-billionaires-promise-to-donate-18-million-masks-2020-3#apple-minimum-2-million-masks-1|title=Tech billionaires including Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg promised 18 million masks to fight COVID-19|publisher=Business Insider|access-date=March 23, 2020}}</ref>

During the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] Microsoft started monitoring [[cyberattack]]s originating from the [[Government of Russia]] and Russia-backed hackers. In June 2022, Microsoft published the report on Russian cyber attacks and concluded that state-backed Russian hackers "have engaged in "strategic espionage" against governments, [[think tank]]s, businesses and [[Aid agency|aid groups]]" in 42 countries supporting [[Kyiv]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft: Russian Cyber Spying Targets 42 Ukraine Allies |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/microsoft-russian-cyber-spying-targets-42-ukraine-allies/6628417.html |access-date=July 12, 2022 |website=VOA |date=June 22, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Defending Ukraine: Early Lessons from the Cyber War|url=https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/06/22/defending-ukraine-early-lessons-from-the-cyber-war/|access-date=August 22, 2023|website=Microsoft|date=June 22, 2022 |language=en |first1=Brad |last1=Smith }}</ref>

Microsoft also supports initiatives through its AI for Accessibility grant program, providing funding to various global organizations that create technologies to enhance accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Among grant recipients from the Asia-Pacific region are the Sri Lankan IT company Fortude, the Thailand-based Vulcan Coalition, and the Indonesian organization Kerjabilitas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.microsoft.com/apac/2020/01/17/creating-inclusiveness-at-our-first-ai-for-accessibility-hackathon-in-asia-pacific/|title=Creating inclusiveness at our first AI for Accessibility hackathon in Asia Pacific|publisher=Microsoft News|date=January 17, 2020|access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref>

===Controversies===
{{Main|Microsoft litigation|Criticism of Microsoft|}}

[[File:Prism-slide-8.jpg|thumb|[[PRISM (surveillance program)|PRISM]] is a [[clandestine operation|clandestine]] [[global surveillance|surveillance]] program under which the [[NSA]] collects user data from companies like Microsoft and Facebook.<ref>{{cite news |title=Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data |work=The Guardian |date=July 12, 2013}}</ref>]]
Criticism of Microsoft has followed various aspects of its products and business practices. Frequently criticized are the [[ease of use]], [[Robustness (computer science)|robustness]], and [[Computer security|security]] of the company's software. It has also been criticized for the use of [[permatemp]] employees (employees employed for years as "temporary", and therefore without medical benefits), the use of [[forced retention]] tactics, which means that employees would be sued if they tried to leave.<ref>{{cite web |title=Troubling Exits At Microsoft |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_39/b3952001.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502084953/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_39/b3952001.htm |archive-date=May 2, 2007 |date= September 26, 2005 |first1=J |last1=Greene |first2=S |last2=Hamm |first3=D |last3=Brady |first4=M |last4=Der Hovanesian |website=BusinessWeek }}</ref> Historically, Microsoft has also been accused of overworking employees, in many cases, leading to [[Occupational burnout|burnout]] within just a few years of joining the company. The company is often referred to as a "Velvet Sweatshop", a term which originated in a 1989 ''[[Seattle Times]]'' article,<ref>{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Paul |date=April 23, 1989 |title=A 'Velvet Sweatshop' or a High-Tech Heaven? |newspaper=The Seattle Times |url=http://www.krsaborio.net/research/1980s/89/890423.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629191556/http://www.krsaborio.net/research/1980s/89/890423.htm |archive-date=June 29, 2012}}</ref> and later became used to describe the company by some of Microsoft's own employees.<ref>{{cite web |title=Editor's note, MSJ August 1997 |url=https://www.microsoft.com/msj/0897/ednote0897.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214061859/http://www.microsoft.com/msj/0897/ednote0897.aspx |archive-date=February 14, 2007 |access-date=September 27, 2005 |website=Microsoft}}</ref> This characterization is derived from the perception that Microsoft provides nearly everything for its employees in a convenient place, but in turn overworks them to a point where it would be bad for their (possibly long-term) health.

As reported by several news outlets,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hancock |first1=Ciarán |title=Irish-registered subsidiary of Microsoft records $314bn profit |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/irish-registered-subsidiary-of-microsoft-records-314bn-profit-1.4565525 |access-date=June 3, 2021 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref><ref name="Neate">{{cite web |last1=Neate |first1=Rupert |title=Microsoft's Irish subsidiary paid zero corporation tax on £220bn profit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/03/microsoft-irish-subsidiary-paid-zero-corporate-tax-on-220bn-profit-last-year |access-date=June 3, 2021 |website=The Guardian|date=June 3, 2021 }}</ref> an Irish subsidiary of Microsoft based in the [[Republic of Ireland]] declared £220 bn in profits but paid no corporation tax for the year 2020. This is due to the company being tax resident in [[Bermuda]] as mentioned in the accounts for 'Microsoft Round Island One, a subsidiary that collects license fees from the use of Microsoft software worldwide. Dame [[Margaret Hodge]], a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] in the UK said, "It is unsurprising – yet still shocking – that massively wealthy global corporations openly, unashamedly and blatantly refuse to pay tax on the profits they make in the countries where they undertake business".<ref name="Neate" />

In 2020, [[ProPublica]] reported that the company had diverted more than $39 billion in U.S. profits to Puerto Rico using a mechanism structured to make it seem as if the company was unprofitable on paper. As a result, the company paid a tax rate on those profits of "nearly 0%". When the [[Internal Revenue Service]] audited these transactions, ProPublica reported that Microsoft aggressively fought back, including successfully lobbying Congress to change the law to make it harder for the agency to conduct audits of large corporations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doctorow |first=Cory |date=January 22, 2020 |title=The sordid tale of Microsoft's epic tax evasion and the war they waged against the IRS |url=https://boingboing.net/2020/01/22/clippy-dodges-taxes.html |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=Boing Boing |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kiel |first=Paul |title=The IRS Decided to Get Tough Against Microsoft. Microsoft Got Tougher. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/the-irs-decided-to-get-tough-against-microsoft-microsoft-got-tougher |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=ProPublica |date=January 22, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> In 2023, Microsoft reported in a securities filing that the U.S. [[Internal Revenue Service]] was alleging that the company owed the U.S. $28.9 billion in past taxes, plus penalties related to mis-allocation of corporate profits over a decade.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 12, 2023 |title=The IRS says Microsoft may owe about $29 billion in back taxes. Microsoft disagrees |url=https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-taxes-irs-96eb66abe86de19f1108209a8d57431a |access-date=April 8, 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

"Embrace, extend, and extinguish" (EEE),<ref name="DeadlyEmbrace">{{cite news|date=March 30, 2000|title=Deadly embrace|language=en|publisher=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/business/2000/03/30/deadly-embrace|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523190053/https://www.economist.com/node/298112|archive-date=May 23, 2018}}</ref> also known as "embrace, extend, and exterminate,"<ref>{{cite web|title=Microsoft limits XML in Office 2003|url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-996528.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050922005808/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-996528.html|archive-date=September 22, 2005|access-date=March 31, 2006}}</ref> is a phrase that the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]] found<ref>{{cite web|title=US Department of Justice Proposed Findings of Fact—Revised|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f2600/v-a.pdf|access-date=April 28, 2016|website=Usdoj.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000419213934/https://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f2600/v-a.pdf|archive-date=April 19, 2000|url-status=live}}</ref> that was used internally by Microsoft<ref>{{cite web|title=US Department of Justice Proposed Findings of Fact|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f2600/2613.htm|access-date=April 28, 2016|website=Usdoj.gov|date=August 14, 2015}}</ref> to describe its strategy for entering product categories involving widely used standards, extending those standards with [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] capabilities, and then using those differences to strongly disadvantage competitors. Microsoft is frequently accused of using anticompetitive tactics and abusing its monopolistic power. People who use its products and services often end up becoming dependent on them, a process known as [[vendor lock-in]].

Microsoft was the first company to participate in [[PRISM (surveillance program)|the PRISM surveillance program]], according to leaked NSA documents obtained by ''The Guardian''<ref>{{cite news |last=Greenwald |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Greenwald |date=June 6, 2013 |title=NSA taps in to internet giants' systems to mine user data, secret files reveal |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data |url-status=live |access-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data |archive-date=August 18, 2006}}</ref> and ''The Washington Post''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gellman |first1=Barton |last2=Poitras |first2=Laura |date=June 6, 2013 |title=U.S. intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html?hpid=z1 |url-status=live |access-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615061900/http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html?hpid=z1 |archive-date=June 15, 2013}}</ref> in June 2013, and acknowledged by government officials following the leak.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Charlie |last2=Wyatt |first2=Edward |last3=Baker |first3=Peter |date=June 6, 2013 |title=U.S. says it gathers online data abroad |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/us/nsa-verizon-calls.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216072437/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/us/nsa-verizon-calls.html |archive-date=February 16, 2017}}</ref> The program authorizes the government to secretly access data of non-US citizens hosted by American companies without a warrant. Microsoft has denied participation in such a program.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 6, 2013 |title=Google, Facebook, Dropbox, Yahoo, Microsoft And Apple Deny Participation In NSA PRISM Surveillance Program |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/06/google-facebook-apple-deny-participation-in-nsa-prism-program/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613004834/http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/06/google-facebook-apple-deny-participation-in-nsa-prism-program/ |archive-date=June 13, 2013 |access-date=June 6, 2013 |work=Tech Crunch}}</ref>

[[Jesse Jackson]] believes Microsoft should hire more [[minorities]] and women. In 2015, he praised Microsoft for appointing two women to its board of directors.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gross |first=Ashley |title=Rev. Jesse Jackson Praises Microsoft's Diversity Efforts, But Urges The Company To Do More |url=http://www.kplu.org/post/rev-jesse-jackson-praises-microsofts-diversity-efforts-urges-company-do-more |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208082033/http://www.kplu.org/post/rev-jesse-jackson-praises-microsofts-diversity-efforts-urges-company-do-more |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref>

In 2020, [[Salesforce]], the manufacturer of the [[Slack (software)|Slack]] platform, complained to European regulators about Microsoft due to the integration of the Teams service into Office 365. Negotiations with the European Commission continued until the summer of 2023, but reached an impasse that led to Microsoft facing an antitrust investigation from the European Union.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-investigation-into-microsoft-likely-after-remedies-fall-short-sources-say-2023-07-03/|title=Exclusive: Microsoft faces EU antitrust probe after remedies fall short, sources say|date=July 4, 2023|website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

In June 2024, Microsoft faced a potential EU fine after regulators accused it of abusing market power by bundling its Teams video-conferencing app with its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 software. The European Commission issued a statement of objections, alleging Microsoft's practice since 2019 gave Teams an unfair market advantage and limited interoperability with competing software. Despite Microsoft's efforts to avoid deeper scrutiny, including unbundling Teams, regulators remained unconvinced. This action followed a 2019 complaint from Slack, which was later acquired by Salesforce. Microsoft's Teams usage soared during the pandemic, growing from 2 million daily users in 2017 to 300 million in 2023. The company has a history of antitrust battles in the U.S. and Europe, with over €2 billion in EU fines previously imposed for similar abuses.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stolton |first=Samuel |title=Microsoft Risks EU Fine After Antitrust Warning Over Teams App |date=June 25, 2024 |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/microsoft-risks-eu-fine-after-antitrust-warning-over-teams-app-1.2089126 |access-date=June 25, 2024}}</ref>

==== Involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict ====
In October 2024, Microsoft fired two employees, software engineers Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal,<ref>"Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was interrupted by shouts from software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad during his speech at the Friday celebration while Vaniya Agrawal, another engineer, interjected during a question-and-answer session with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, CEO Satya Nadella and former CEO Steve Ballmer." - [https://thehill.com/business/5238939-microsoft-fires-employees-israel-gaza-war-protest/] (Ashleigh Fields)</ref> who organized an unauthorized vigil at its Redmond headquarters to honor Palestinians killed in the [[Gaza war]]. The employees, part of the group "No Azure for Apartheid", sought to address the company's involvement in the Israeli government's use of its technology.<ref>{{cite news|last=O’BRIEN  |first=MATT |title=Microsoft fires employees who organized vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza |date=October 25, 2024 |url=https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-fired-workers-israel-palestinians-gaza-72de6fe1f35db9398e3b6785203c6bbf |website=AP News |access-date=October 27, 2024}}</ref> In February 2025, the Associated Press reported that the Israeli military was utilizing Microsoft-developed [[AI-assisted targeting in the Gaza Strip|artificial intelligence tools]] in its military and intelligence operations against the people of Gaza. In May 2025, Microsoft issued an unsigned statement confirming that these services had been made available to Israel, while denying that these tools were employed during the [[Israeli war crimes in the Gaza war|massacre of the people of Gaza]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Thirlwell |first1=Edwin Evans |title=Microsoft confirm they've supplied AI tech to the Israeli military for use in Gaza, following BDS Xbox boycott |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/microsoft-confirm-theyve-supplied-ai-tech-to-the-israeli-military-for-use-in-gaza-following-bds-xbox-boycott |website=rockpapershotgun|date=May 19, 2025 }}</ref> On March 20, 2025, before an event at Seattle's Great Hall with Brad Smith and Steve Ballmer, protestors projected "Microsoft powers [[Gaza genocide|genocide]]" on the wall. Subsequently, two employees interrupted AI executive Mustafa Suleyman at a speaking event on April 4, 2025, in protest at the company's support of Israel.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pratt |first1=Timothy |title=Microsoft faces growing unrest over role in Israel's war on Gaza: 'Close to a tipping point' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/18/microsoft-ai-israel-gaza-war |website=The Guardian |access-date=April 18, 2025 |date=April 18, 2025}}</ref> After the disruptions at these events, Microsoft contacted the FBI in search of assistance in surveilling its pro-Palestinian employees and their allies.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2025 |title=Microsoft asked FBI for help tracking Palestinian protests |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft-asked-fbi-for-help-tracking-palestinian-protests/ |access-date=August 30, 2025 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] movement added Microsoft to its list of targets for partnering "with the apartheid regime of Israel and its prison system".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/news/554879/bds-palestine-israel-xbox-microsoft-boycott-candy-crush-minecraft-call-of-duty|title=Palestinian-led BDS movement adds Microsoft's Xbox as priority boycott target|date=April 8, 2025|access-date=April 18, 2025|website=Polygon|last=Walker|first=Ian}}</ref> In August 2025 it was reported that Microsoft provides storage for mass-surveilled Palestinian phone calls that have been used to identify bombing targets in Gaza.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Harry |last2=Abraham |first2=Yuval |title='A million calls an hour': Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/06/microsoft-israeli-military-palestinian-phone-calls-cloud |website=The Guardian |access-date=August 14, 2025 |date=August 6, 2025}}</ref> On August 20, 20 Microsoft employees and their allies were arrested after refusing to disperse from a protest on Microsoft's Redmond, Washington campus.<ref name=":0" />

In November 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into Microsoft, focusing on potential antitrust violations related to its cloud computing, AI, and cybersecurity businesses. The probe scrutinized Microsoft's bundling of cloud services with products like Office and security tools, as well as its growing AI presence through its partnership with OpenAI. This inquiry is part of broader efforts by the U.S. government to curb the power of major tech companies, especially under FTC chair Lina Khan. Concerns were raised about Microsoft's licensing practices potentially locking customers into its services and its AI investments possibly sidestepping regulatory oversight.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCabe |first=David |title=F.T.C. Launches Antitrust Investigation Into Microsoft |date=November 27, 2024 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/technology/microsoft-ftc-antitrust.html |website=NY Times |access-date=December 1, 2024}}</ref>

In June 2025 Microsoft helped suspend the email account of an [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) prosecutor in the Netherlands who was investigating Israel for war crimes in order to comply with a Trump executive order.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Satariano |first1=Adam |last2=Smialek |first2=Jeanna |date=June 20, 2025 |title=Europe's Growing Fear: How Trump Might Use U.S. Tech Dominance Against It |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/technology/us-tech-europe-microsoft-trump-icc.html |access-date=June 21, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2025 |title=Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/ |access-date=June 21, 2025 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref> In June 2025, a UN expert's report named Microsoft as being "central to Israel's surveillance apparatus and the ongoing Gaza destruction."<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Farge |first1=Emma |date=July 1, 2025 |title='Lucrative' business deals help sustain Israel's Gaza campaign, UN expert says |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/lucrative-business-deals-help-sustain-israels-gaza-campaign-un-expert-says-2025-07-01/ |access-date=July 1, 2025 |work=[[Reuters]] |language=en }}</ref> In September 2025, Microsoft cut off some services to a unit of Israel's Ministry of Defence after an investigation found its technology had been used to conduct mass surveillance on people in Gaza.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawal |first=Shola |title=Why has Microsoft cut Israel off from some of its services? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/26/why-has-microsoft-cut-israel-off-from-some-of-its-services |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-25 |title=Microsoft cuts off some services used by Israeli military unit |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgjx0zve2no |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of mergers and acquisitions by Microsoft]]
* [[Microsoft engineering groups]]
* [[Microsoft Enterprise Agreement]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

; Bundled references
{{Reflist|group=list}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website}}
* {{OpenSecrets}}
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