$ cat ./records/microsoft-makes-its-first-acquisition-forethought-maker-of-powerp-1987.txt
Microsoft makes its first acquisition — Forethought, maker of PowerPoint
[RECORD.TXT] · cat --full
Microsoft made its first significant acquisition in 1987, buying Forethought Inc. — and its presentation program PowerPoint — for about $14 million, just months after PowerPoint debuted for the Macintosh. Microsoft set up a graphics business unit in Silicon Valley around it, and PowerPoint went on to become a core component of Microsoft Office and one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software in the world. The deal foreshadowed Microsoft's expansion from operating systems into the applications that would define office work.
Free forever · No ads · Solo developer
If this was worth a read, help make the next entry possible.
Every entry in this archive was researched, verified, and written by one person — for free. No corporate funding. No ad revenue. Just a developer who believes verified history should be accessible to everyone. Your donation directly funds new entries.
Crypto accepted · No subscription required
← Previous
Windows 2.0 ships and triggers an Apple 'look and feel' lawsuit
Next →
Became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at age 31
[CROSS_REFERENCES] · grep --category='Technology'
Related Accomplishments
January 2026
Gates warns AI could be used to design a bioterrorism weapon
In his January 2026 'Year Ahead' annual letter and subsequent remarks, Bill Gates warned that an even greater risk than a natural pandemic is that 'a non-government group will use open source AI tools to design a bioterrorism weapon.' Gates identified two AI dangers he said society must manage — misuse by bad actors and disruption to jobs — and drew a comparison to COVID-19, invoking his 2015 TED talk about pandemic unpreparedness. He argued the technology must be deliberately developed, governed, and deployed, and urged governments to use 2026 to prepare before AI's risks become unmanageable.
2026
Gates backs a $1 million prize for AI-powered Alzheimer's research
Bill Gates joined other funders backing a competition to harness artificial intelligence for Alzheimer's research, with the Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative offering a $1 million first prize for 'agentic AI' that can accelerate discovery. The effort reflects Gates's growing personal focus on the brain — shaped by his father's experience with Alzheimer's — and his belief that AI and big data can speed progress in a field long marked by setbacks. Application rounds ran from 2025 into 2026.
[ARCHIVE_FUNDING] · INDEPENDENT · NO ADS
One developer. >300 verified entries. Zero ads. Forever free.
No sponsors, no paywall, no algorithm. If this archive has been useful to you, reader support is what keeps it running.