Bill Gates Marks Microsoft’s 50th Anniversary with Historic Source Code Release

REDFMOND, Wash. — Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary by unveiling the original source code for Altair BASIC, the first software developed by Microsoft, during a special event on April 4.

“Before there was Office or Windows 95 or Xbox or AI, there was Altair BASIC,” Gates said in a blog post. “In 1975, Paul Allen and I created Microsoft because we believed in our vision of a computer on every desk and in every home. Five decades later, Microsoft continues to innovate new ways to make life easier and work more productive.”

The release of the source code comes shortly after Gates published his first autobiography, which reflects on the company’s journey alongside reminiscences of his early programming days with Allen. He described the anniversary as “bittersweet,” recalling how he and Allen “hunched over the PDP-10 in Harvard’s computer lab, writing the code that would become the first product of our new company.”

The printed source code is over 150 pages of Intel 8080 assembly language, representing a foundational moment in the evolution of personal computing. “That code remains the coolest code I’ve ever written to this day,” Gates remarked. “I still get a kick out of seeing it, even all these years later.”

Gates elaborated on how the Altair 8800, featured on the cover of a January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, inspired him and Allen to build the first software compatible with the minicomputer. Their venture began with a lie, as they approached Ed Roberts, CEO of MITS, claiming they had already developed software for the Altair, even though they had not.

“There was just one problem: We didn’t,” Gates admitted. The duo tirelessly created the needed interpreter for the Altair 8800, and they successfully demonstrated it to Roberts, securing a license for their product—the first for Microsoft.

The company’s name, originally written as “Micro-Soft”, was a combination of “microprocessor” and “software.” Microsoft has since blossomed into a tech giant with a current market cap of $2.7 trillion.

Reflecting on the company’s legacy, Gates stated, “It’s amazing to think about how the same piece of code led to a half century of innovation from Microsoft.” Today, under the leadership of Satya Nadella, Microsoft has evolved to include software suites such as Office, the Windows operating system, and the Xbox gaming console.

As part of the anniversary celebration, Microsoft hosted a special event featuring speeches from various company leaders and insights into its AI initiatives, underscoring its commitment to future innovations.

“Fifty years is a long time,” Gates concluded. “It’s crazy that the dream came true. I’d say Microsoft is as interesting today as it was at any time in history.”