HomeNewsTrendsOn this day in 1997, Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple, saved it from bankruptcy
The investment meant that Microsoft was helping one of its greatest competitors, but it was also a new business opportunity which Bill Gates admitted in 2007.
August 07, 2022 / 19:19 IST
The show of friendship between rivals Bill Gates and Steve Jobs shocked the tech and business communities.
On August 6, 1997, Microsoft's Bill Gate invested $150 million in Apple which was in the brink of bankruptcy. Following the deal, Steve Jobs told Gates, âBill, thank you. The worldâs a better place.â
At the time, Time Magazine used the quote on their cover.
20 years ago this week, Steve Jobs was on the cover of @TIME, thanking @BillGates for "saving Apple." pic.twitter.com/AhUnLnOZ8tâ Codecademy (@Codecademy) August 24, 2017
The show of friendshipÂbetween rivals shocked the tech and business communities. Describing it, the New York Times wrote in its opinion section: âEven in cyberspace, the moment can only be described as surreal."
On this day in 1997: Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple.Related stories
It saved Apple from bankruptcy.pic.twitter.com/6owWW2m6UI
â Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) August 6, 2022
âApple was in very serious trouble,â CNBC quoted Steve Jobs as saying. âAnd what was really clear was that if the game was a zero-sum game where for Apple to win, Microsoft had to lose, then Apple was going to lose.
âThere were too many people at Apple and in the Apple ecosystem playing (that) game,â he added. âAnd it was clear that you didnât have to play that game, because Apple wasnât going to beat Microsoft.ÂApple didnât have to beat Microsoft. Apple had to remember who Apple was because theyâd forgotten who Apple was.â
The investment meant that Microsoft was helping one of its greatest competitors, but it was also aÂnew business opportunity which Bill Gates admitted in 2007.
âThatâs worked out very well," he had said. âIn fact, every couple years or so, thereâs been something new that weâve been able to do on the Mac and itâs been a great business for us.â
The deal eventually resulted in Apple and Microsoft shaping the computing industry together.
Moneycontrol News
first published: Aug 7, 2022 07:12 pm
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