Microsoft

Microsoft is a multinational technology company that develops, manufactures, licenses and supports software products, consumer electronics and personal computers. The company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, in the United States, and operates globally across more than 190 countries. Microsoft is publicly listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker MSFT and ranks among the world's most valuable companies by market capitalisation. Its core products include the Windows operating system, the Office productivity suite, the Azure cloud computing platform, and the Xbox gaming console. The company also produces the Surface line of personal computers and tablets, and owns LinkedIn, GitHub and Skype. Microsoft Azure has become a major revenue driver, offering infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service and software-as-a-service solutions to enterprise and government clients. The company employs more than 220,000 people worldwide. Microsoft has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, including generative AI capabilities integrated across its product portfolio and through partnerships with OpenAI. In the mining and industrial sectors, Microsoft provides cloud-based analytics, predictive maintenance solutions and automation tools that leverage AI and machine learning. The company was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, initially focused on software for personal computers, and has since evolved into one of the dominant players in enterprise technology and cloud services.