With the purchase of LinkedIn today for $26 Billion in cash, Microsoft makes its 196th acquisition. I wanted to take a look at what acquisitions were made in the past and thought it might be cool to see the background on how Microsoft got to where they are with an interactive timeline.
The interactive timeline was constructed from the information below, which can also be found on Wikipedia.
Acquisitions
| Number | Date | Company | Business | Country | Value (USD) | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 30, 1987 | Forethought, Inc. | Computer software |  United States |
14,000,000 | [19] |
| 2 | March 31, 1991 | Consumers Software | Software |  Canada |
— | [20] |
| 3 | June 29, 1992 | Fox Software | PC database software | United States |
— | [21] |
| 4 | February 28, 1994 | Softimage | Wholesale 3-D visualization software | Canada |
— | [22] |
| 5 | September 27, 1994 | Altamira Software | Software | United States |
— | [23] |
| 6 | November 1, 1994 | NextBase | Software | United States |
— | [24] |
| 7 | November 15, 1994 | One Tree Software | Software | United States |
— | [25] |
| 8 | February 23, 1995 | RenderMorphics | 3D graphics hardware | United States |
— | [26] |
| 9 | July 10, 1995 | Network Managers | Systems design |  United Kingdom |
— | [27] |
| 10 | October 17, 1995 | The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks | Software | United States |
— | [28] |
| 11 | November 6, 1995 | Netwise | Computer software | United States |
— | [29] |
| 12 | December 12, 1995 | Bruce ArtwickOrganization | Programming | United States |
— | [30] |
| 13 | January 16, 1996 | Vermeer Technologies | Software | United States |
— | [31] |
| 14 | March 6, 1996 | VGA-Animation Software Div[note 1] | Software |  Germany |
— | [32] |
| 15 | March 12, 1996 | Colusa Software | Software | United States |
— | [33] |
| 16 | April 16, 1996 | Exos | Video game controllers | United States |
— | [34] |
| 17 | April 23, 1996 | Aspect Software Engineering | Computer software | United States |
14,150,000 | [35] |
| 18 | June 11, 1996 | eShop | Software | United States |
— | [36] |
| 19 | June 17, 1996 | Electric Gravity | Electronic games | United States |
— | [37] |
| 20 | November 1, 1996 | Panorama Software Sys-On-Line[note 2] | Software | Canada |
— | [38] |
| 21 | February 3, 1997 | NetCarta | Internet software | United States |
20,000,000 | [39] |
| 22 | March 3, 1997 | Interse | Internet software | United States |
— | [40] |
| 23 | April 30, 1997 | WebTV Networks | Internet service provider | United States |
425,000,000 | [41] |
| 24 | May 7, 1997 | Dimension X | Java-based platforms | United States |
— | [42] |
| 25 | June 13, 1997 | Cooper & Peters | Programming | United States |
— | [43] |
| 26 | June 30, 1997 | LinkAge Software | Internet software development | Canada |
— | [44] |
| 27 | August 5, 1997 | VXtreme | Internet video software | United States |
— | [45] |
| 28 | December 31, 1997 | Hotmail | Internet software | United States |
500,000,000 | [46] |
| 29 | February 23, 1998 | Flash Communications | Enterprise instant messaging software | United States |
— | [47][48] |
| 30 | April 15, 1998 | Firefly | Relationship management software | United States |
40,000,000 | [49] |
| 31 | April 28, 1998 | MESA Group | Data sharing software | United States |
— | [50] |
| 32 | August 25, 1998 | Valence Research | Internet software | United States |
— | [51] |
| 33 | November 6, 1998 | LinkExchange | Internet advertising network | United States |
265,000,000 | [52] |
| 34 | January 11, 1999 | FASA Interactive | Computer game software | United States |
— | [53] |
| 35 | March 4, 1999 | CompareNet | Shopping online | United States |
— | [54] |
| 36 | March 26, 1999 | Numinous Technologies | Software | United States |
— | [55] |
| 37 | April 27, 1999 | Interactive Objects-Digital | Web music software | United States |
— | [56] |
| 38 | April 30, 1999 | Jump Networks | Internet service provider | United States |
— | [57] |
| 39 | June 7, 1999 | ShadowFactor Software | Wholesale computer software | United States |
— | [58] |
| 40 | June 15, 1999 | Omnibrowse | Internet software | United States |
— | [59] |
| 41 | June 28, 1999 | Intrinsa | Defect detection software | United States |
58,900,000 | [60] |
| 42 | July 1, 1999 | Sendit | Application software |  Sweden |
125,420,000 | [61] |
| 43 | July 7, 1999 | Zoomit | Encryption software | Canada |
— | [62] |
| 44 | July 21, 1999 | STNC | Community software | United Kingdom |
— | [63] |
| 45 | September 19, 1999 | Softway Systems | Computer programming | United States |
— | [64] |
| 46 | October 29, 1999 | Entropic | Software | United States |
— | [65] |
| 47 | January 7, 2000 | Visio Corporation | Wholesale drawing software | United States |
1,375,000,000 | [66] |
| 48 | February 29, 2000 | Peach Networks | Digital TV services |  Israel |
— | [67] |
| 49 | March 17, 2000 | Travelscape | Internet service provider | United States |
89,750,000 | [68] |
| 50 | April 12, 2000 | Titus Communications | Cable television | United States |
944,800,000 | [69] |
| 51 | June 19, 2000 | Bungie Software | Computer software | United States |
— | [70] |
| 52 | July 12, 2000 | NetGames | Software | United States |
— | [71] |
| 53 | September 13, 2000 | MongoMusic | Online music search engine | United States |
65,000,000 | [72] |
| 54 | September 27, 2000 | Pacific Microsonics | Digital audio technology | United States |
— | [73] |
| 55 | March 17, 2001 | Vacationspot | Internet service provider | United States |
70,850,000 | [74] |
| 56 | April 5, 2001 | Great Plains Software | Business management software | United States |
939,884,000 | [75] |
| 57 | May 2, 2001 | Intellisol International | Software | Canada |
— | [76] |
| 58 | May 31, 2001 | NCompass Labs | Internet software | Canada |
36,000,000 | [77] |
| 59 | June 21, 2001 | Maximal Innovative Intelligence | Software | Israel |
20,000,000 | [78] |
| 60 | July 1, 2001 | Yupi | Online Spanish Portal | United States |
— | [79] |
| 61 | March 11, 2002 | Classic Custom Vacations | Travel agency | United States |
78,000,000 | [80] |
| 62 | May 22, 2002 | Sales Management Systems | Software | United States |
— | [81] |
| 63 | July 12, 2002 | Navision | Software programming |  Denmark |
1,330,000,000 | [82] |
| 64 | July 29, 2002 | Mobilocity | Computer consulting | United States |
— | [83] |
| 65 | September 10, 2002 | XDegrees | Security software | United States |
— | [84] |
| 66 | September 24, 2002 | Rare | Software and video games | United Kingdom |
375,000,000 | [85] |
| 67 | December 13, 2002 | Vicinity | Online enterprise location | United States |
95,849,000 | [86] |
| 68 | February 25, 2003 | Connectix | Software | United States |
— | [87] |
| 69 | March 3, 2003 | DCG | Internet software |  Australia |
— | [88] |
| 70 | April 30, 2003 | PlaceWare | Web conferencing | United States |
200,000,000 | [89] |
| 71 | May 27, 2003 | G.A. Sullivan | Information technology | United States |
— | [90] |
| 72 | June 10, 2003 | GeCAD Software | Antivirus technology |  Romania |
— | [91] |
| 73 | August 29, 2003 | 3DO Co-High Heat Baseball | Software | United States |
450,000 | [92] |
| 74 | April 22, 2004 | Encore Bus Solutions-IP Asts | IP assets | United States |
— | [93] |
| 75 | April 26, 2004 | ActiveViews | Reporting systems | United States |
— | [94] |
| 76 | July 16, 2004 | Lookout Software | Personal search tool | United States |
— | [95] |
| 77 | December 16, 2004 | GIANT Company Software | Anti-spyware | United States |
— | [96] |
| 78 | March 2, 2005 | en’tegrate | Software | United States |
— | [97] |
| 79 | April 9, 2005 | Groove Networks | Community software | United States |
— | [98] |
| 80 | May 11, 2005 | MessageCast | Messaging | United States |
7,000,000 | [99] |
| 81 | May 31, 2005 | Tsinghua-Shenxun-Cert Asts | Certain assets |  China |
15,000,000 | [100] |
| 82 | June 21, 2005 | Sybari Software | Software | United States |
— | [101] |
| 83 | August 29, 2005 | Teleo | VoIP | United States |
— | [102] |
| 84 | August 31, 2005 | FrontBridge Technologies | Email protection | United States |
— | [103] |
| 85 | September 19, 2005 | Alacris | Certificate management software | United States |
— | [104] |
| 86 | November 3, 2005 | media-streams.com | Software |  Switzerland |
— | [105] |
| 87 | November 17, 2005 | 5th Finger | Mobile | Australia |
3,153,000 | [106] |
| 88 | January 19, 2006 | UMT-Software and IP Assets | Software | United States |
— | [107] |
| 89 | February 13, 2006 | MotionBridge | Search |  France |
17,858,000 | [108] |
| 90 | February 13, 2006 | Seadragon Software | Software | United States |
— | [109] |
| 91 | March 7, 2006 | Apptimum | Software | United States |
— | [110] |
| 92 | March 7, 2006 | Onfolio | Internet software | United States |
— | [111] |
| 93 | April 6, 2006 | Lionhead Studios | Video games | United Kingdom |
— | [112] |
| 94 | April 26, 2006 | AssetMetrix | Enterprise software | Canada |
— | [113] |
| 95 | May 4, 2006 | Massive Incorporated | Video game advertising | United States |
— | [114] |
| 96 | May 4, 2006 | Vexcel | Mapping software | United States |
— | [115] |
| 97 | May 15, 2006 | DeepMetrix | Web log analysis | United States |
— | [116] |
| 98 | June 6, 2006 | ProClarity | Analysis software | United States |
— | [117] |
| 99 | June 27, 2006 | iView Multimedia | Digital asset management | United Kingdom |
— | [118] |
| 100 | July 17, 2006 | Softricity | application virtualization software | United States |
— | [119] |
| 101 | July 18, 2006 | WinternalsSoftware | Software | United States |
— | [120] |
| 102 | July 26, 2006 | Whale Communications | Applications | Israel |
— | [121] |
| 103 | September 26, 2006 | Gteko | Applications | Israel |
— | [122] |
| 104 | October 2, 2006 | DesktopStandard | Applications | United States |
— | [123] |
| 105 | October 12, 2006 | Colloquis | Natural language software | United States |
— | [124] |
| 106 | March 9, 2007 | Medstory | Internet search engine | United States |
— | [125] |
| 107 | March 26, 2007 | devBiz Business Solutions | Software tools | United States |
— | [126] |
| 108 | May 3, 2007 | ScreenTonic | Advertising and marketing | France |
— | [127] |
| 109 | May 3, 2007 | Tellme Networks | Mobile phone software | United States |
— | [128] |
| 110 | May 9, 2007 | SoftArtisans | Business Intelligence software | United States |
— | [129] |
| 111 | June 4, 2007 | Engyro | Information technology | United States |
— | [130] |
| 112 | June 7, 2007 | Stratature | Master Data Management | United States |
— | [131] |
| 113 | June 29, 2007 | Savvis Inc-Data Centers | Networking | United States |
200,000,000 | [132] |
| 114 | August 13, 2007 | AdECN | Ad Exchange | United States |
— | [133] |
| 115 | August 13, 2007 | aQuantive | Digital marketing | United States |
6,333,000,000 | [134] |
| 116 | October 2, 2007 | Jellyfish.com | Search engine | United States |
— | [135] |
| 117 | October 5, 2007 | Parlano | Enterprise messaging software | United States |
— | [136] |
| 118 | October 29, 2007 | Global Care Solutions-Assets | Assets |  Thailand |
— | [137] |
| 119 | November 1, 2007 | HOB Business Solutions | Information technology | Denmark |
— | [138] |
| 120 | November 15, 2007 | Musiwave | Mobile music entertainment | France |
— | [139] |
| 121 | December 12, 2007 | Multimap.com | Mapping | United Kingdom |
— | [140] |
| 122 | January 22, 2008 | Calista Technologies | Software | United States |
— | [141] |
| 123 | February 7, 2008 | Caligari Corporation | Software | United States |
— | [142] |
| 124 | February 27, 2008 | YaData | Software | Israel |
— | [143] |
| 125 | March 14, 2008 | Rapt | Advertising yield management software | United States |
— | [144] |
| 126 | March 19, 2008 | Komoku | Rootkit security software | United States |
5,000,000 | [145] |
| 127 | March 31, 2008 | 90 Degree Software | Business intelligence software | Canada |
— | [146] |
| 128 | April 14, 2008 | Farecast | Online search software | United States |
75,000,000 | [147] |
| 129 | April 15, 2008 | Danger | Mobile Internet software | United States |
500,000,000 | [148] |
| 130 | April 25, 2008 | Fast Search & Transfer | Enterprise search[clarification needed] |  Norway |
1,191,000,000 | [149] |
| 131 | May 26, 2008 | Kidaro | Software | United States |
— | [150] |
| 132 | June 4, 2008 | Quadreon | Software |  Belgium |
— | [151] |
| 133 | June 18, 2008 | Navic Networks | Management software | United States |
— | [152] |
| 134 | June 26, 2008 | Mobicomp | Mobile applications |  Portugal |
— | [153] |
| 135 | August 11, 2008 | Powerset | Semantic Search | United States |
— | [154] |
| 136 | September 16, 2008 | DATAllegro | Data software | United States |
— | [155] |
| 137 | September 28, 2008 | Greenfield Online | Search and e-commerce services | United States |
486,000,000 | [156] |
| 138 | March 1, 2009 | 3DV Systems | Developer of ZCam, atime-of-flight camera | Israel |
35,000,000 | [157] |
| 139 | May 7, 2009 | BigPark | Interactive online gaming | Canada |
— | [158] |
| 140 | June 1, 2009 | Rosetta Biosoftware | Bioinformatics solutions for life science research | United States |
— | [159] |
| 141 | September 22, 2009 | Interactive Supercomputing | Software | United States |
— | [160] |
| 142 | December 10, 2009 | Opalis Software | Software | Canada |
— | [161] |
| 143 | December 10, 2009 | Sentillion, Inc. | Identity and Access Management Software for Healthcare | United States |
— | [162] |
| 144 | October 6, 2010 | AVIcode, Inc. | .Net monitoring technology | United States |
— | [163] |
| 145 | October 29, 2010 | Canesta, Inc. | 3-D sensing technology | United States |
— | [164] |
| 146 | May 10, 2011 | Skype Technologies | Telecommunications |  Luxembourg |
8,500,000,000 | [165] |
| 147 | June 7, 2011 | Prodiance | Software | United States |
— | [166][167] |
| 148 | November 22, 2011 | Videosurf | Video search | United States |
100,000,000 | [168][169] |
| 149 | June 25, 2012 | Yammer | Social networking | United States |
1,200,000,000 | [170] |
| 150 | July 9, 2012 | Perceptive Pixel | Multi touch hardware | United States |
— | [171] |
| 151 | October 4, 2012 | PhoneFactor | Two-factor authentication system | United States |
— | [172] |
| 152 | October 16, 2012 | StorSimple | Cloud-storage appliance vendor | United States |
— | [173] |
| 153 | October 17, 2012 | MarketingPilot | Marketing automation firm | United States |
— | [174] |
| 154 | January 3, 2013 | id8 Group R2 Studios | Home automation | United States |
— | [175] |
| 155 | February 2, 2013 | Pando Networks | Peer-to-peer (P2P) media distribution | United States |
— | [176] |
| 156 | March 4, 2013 | MetricsHub | Cloud monitoring | United States |
— | [177] |
| 157 | March 19, 2013 | Netbreeze | Social analytics | Switzerland |
— | [178] |
| 158 | June 3, 2013 | InRelease | Release management | Canada |
— | [179] |
| 159 | September 2, 2013 | Nokia mobile phones unit | Mobile phones,smartphones |  Finland |
7,200,000,000 | [180] |
| 160 | October 12, 2013 | HLW Software | RDP applications |  Austria |
— | [181] |
| 161 | October 25, 2013 | Apiphany | API management | United States |
— | [182] |
| 162 | January 7, 2014 | Parature | Customer service software | United States |
100,000,000 | [183] |
| 163 | May 1, 2014 | GreenButton | Cloud computing |  New Zealand |
— | [184] |
| 164 | May 1, 2014 | Capptain | (Mobile) application development | France |
— | [185] |
| 165 | July 2, 2014 | SyntaxTree | Developer tools | France |
— | [186] |
| 166 | July 11, 2014 | InMage | Disaster recovery solutions | United States |
— | [187] |
| 167 | August 1, 2014 | Inception Mobile Inc. | Software | Canada |
— | [188] |
| 168 | November 6, 2014 | Mojang | Video games | Sweden |
2,500,000,000 | [189] |
| 169 | November 13, 2014 | Aorato | Enterprise Security & machine learning | Israel |
— | [190] |
| 170 | December 2, 2014 | Acompli | Mobile Email Apps | United States |
— | [191] |
| 171 | December 11, 2014 | HockeyApp | Mobile Beta Distribution & Crash Analytics | Germany |
— | [192] |
| 172 | January 20, 2015 | Equivio | Text Analytics Service | Israel |
— | [193] |
| 173 | January 23, 2015 | Revolution Analytics | Statistical computing and predictive analytics | United States |
— | [194] |
| 174 | February 4, 2015 | Sunrise Atelier, Inc. | Sunrise Calendarapplications | United States |
100,000,000 | [195] |
| 175 | February 12, 2015 | N-trig | Styli and pen input hardware and software | Israel |
200,000,000 | [196] |
| 176 | March 26, 2015 | LiveLoop | PowerPoint collaboration | United States |
— | [197] |
| 177 | April 14, 2015 | Datazen Software, Inc. | Mobile business intelligence & Data visualization | Canada |
— | [198] |
| 178 | June 2, 2015 | 6Wunderkinder GmbH | Wunderlist to-do list applications | Germany |
— | [199] |
| 179 | June 10, 2015 | BlueStripe Software | Application management | United States |
— | [200] |
| 180 | July 16, 2015 | FieldOne Systems LLC | Enterprise Field Service | United States |
— | [201] |
| 181 | July 19, 2015 | Adallom | Cloud security | Israel |
320,000,000 | [202][203] |
| 182 | August 3, 2015 | Incent Games, LLC | Sales-gamification | United States |
— | [204] |
| 183 | September 3, 2015 | VoloMetrix, Inc. | Organisational analytics | United States |
— | [205] |
| 184 | September 11, 2015 | Double Labs, Inc. | Mobile lock screen software | United States |
— | [206] |
| 185 | September 28, 2015 | Adxstudio Inc. | Web portal and application lifecycle management solutions | Canada |
— | [207] |
| 186 | October 2, 2015 | Telekinesys Research Ltd. | Game-technology vendor |  Ireland |
— | [208] |
| 187 | November 5, 2015 | Mobile Data Labs, Inc. | MileIQ, a mileage tracking application | United States |
— | [209] |
| 188 | November 9, 2015 | Secure Islands Technologies Ltd. | Data protection | Israel |
— | [210] |
| 189 | December 18, 2015 | Metanautix | Big Data Analytics | United States |
— | [211] |
| 190 | December 21, 2015 | Talko, Inc. | Mobile communications | United States |
— | [212] |
| 191 | January 19, 2016 | Teacher Gaming LLC | Education Software | Finland |
— | [213] |
| 192 | February 3, 2016 | TouchType, Ltd. | SwiftKey, a keyboard productivity application | United Kingdom |
250,000,000 | [214][215][216] |
| 193 | February 9, 2016 | Groove | Music Discovery | Canada |
— | [217] |
| 194 | February 24, 2016 | Xamarin | Mobile application development | United States |
— | [218][219][220][221] |
| 195 | May 3, 2016 | Solair | Internet of Things Platform |  Italy |
— | [222] |
| 196 | June 13, 2016 | Professional network | United States |
26,200,000,000 | [223] |
