Microsoft
A company in the archive: 5 stories feature Microsoft. Each one is sourced and dated.
Stories featuring Microsoft
In the archive
- Hotmail Sold to Microsoft for $400 Million 18 Months After Launch$300K→$400MRaised → Sold for
Two engineers raised $300,000 for a free email site, launched it on Independence Day 1996 and let every message sell the service. By the end of 1997 Microsoft owned it.
- Nokia Sold Its Phone Business for €5.44 Billion and Kept Going€5.44B→$7.6BSold for → Microsoft's write-down
A Finnish pulp mill became a maker of boots, tires and cables, then the world's biggest phone company. In 2013 it sold the phones to Microsoft. In 2015 Microsoft wrote off more than it had paid.
- Apple in 1997: About 90 Days From Running Out of Cash-$1.04B→$416BLoss, 1997 → Revenue, 2025
In 1997 Apple lost $1.04 billion and, by Steve Jobs's account, was about 90 days from running out of money. Its rescue included $150 million from its oldest rival.
- How Microsoft Bought DOS for $75,000$75,000→$331.8BPaid for DOS → Revenue, FY2026
In 1980 IBM needed an operating system for its first PC. Microsoft didn't have one, so it bought one from a small Seattle company for a total of $75,000. In fiscal 2026 Microsoft had revenue of $331.8 billion.
- Yahoo Could Have Bought Google for $1 Million$1M→$402.8BAsking price, 1998 → Alphabet revenue, 2025
In 1998 Google's founders reportedly offered their search technology to Yahoo for $1 million. Yahoo declined. In 2017 Yahoo's core business sold for $4.48 billion. In 2025 Google's parent took in $402.8 billion.
