what is microsoft

Microsoft is an American multinational technology corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington. It is the largest vendor of computer software in the world and a leading provider of cloud computing services, video games, computer and gaming hardware, search, and other online services. Microsofts corporate headquarters is located in Redmond, Wash., and it has offices in more than 60 countries. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. Microsoft rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Windows. Its flagship software products are the Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity applications, and the Edge web browser. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. Microsoft also acquired Nokia for $7.2 billion in 2013 to compete in the smartphone business against Apple and Android.