Microsoft, founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, grew from selling a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800 into a dominant force in personal computing. Its decisive breakthrough came when IBM chose it to provide software for the IBM Personal Computer, allowing MS-DOS to spread widely on compatible machines. Windows, Microsoft Office, and later products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows NT, and Windows 95 made it central to business and home computing. The company later expanded into internet services, gaming, hardware, and especially cloud computing under Satya Nadella, becoming one of the world’s most valuable public companies despite major antitrust scrutiny and criticism of its products.