3 ms·

This is almost entirely not true. Under Satya, Microsoft went on a shopping spree. They bought a ton of startups: Minecraft, Github, Skype, Sunrise, LinkedIn (

This is almost entirely not true. Under Satya, Microsoft went on a shopping spree. They bought a ton of startups: Minecraft, Github, Skype, Sunrise, LinkedIn (tnx comments!), Yammer ... and along with those it bought a mapping company, a multitude of ad/marketing companies, educational startups, AI startups...etc, etc. Those are just the ones we know about. Update: here's a list of all MS acquisitions. It's rather lengthly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio... Did you know they almost bought Twitch.tv, but Amazon had more money? And as far as locking them in the same building, that's not exactly operationally efficient in 2018. But they seemed to have done their best at either merging the products right away, or letting the team run on their own. So, they did pretty well, according to the plan.

samcgraw 8y ago
Not to mention LinkedIn :)
downer60 8y ago
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, before the 2014 Ballmer/Nadella change-over. Also, Minecraft isn't exactly a start-up, but more of a celebrity among gaming projects, ranking closer to an endorsement/sponsorship deal.
WisNorCan 8y ago
Hmm... 1) Skype was purchased by Ballmer. 2) Most of the ad tech companies were also purchased by Ballmer. 3) Minecraft and Skype are not Bay Area companies 4) LinkedIn was a public company when Microsoft acquired them. So it seems like a stretch to call them a startup. 5) And finally it looks like Microsoft has done acquisitions throughout their existence. In fact, they acquired as many companies in 2007 as they did in 2018 and more in 2007 than 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio... It doesn't seem like "buy lots of Bay Area Web 2.0 companies to infuse new talent" is the secret ingredient. Yahoo was the company that probably closest executed the strategy. That didn't go well as we all know.
- jitl 8y ago
  The other key part of that idea is the “lead shield” from the dinosaur parent company, and we know from many accounts that being integrated into the Yahoo culture is what killed their acquisitions.
- tootie 8y ago
  Man, I worked at aQuantive when it got bought for $6B by Ballmer. They took a $6B write down within a few years. They should have kept their money in the services part of that business instead of the second-rate ad tech.

samcgraw 8y ago

Not to mention LinkedIn :)

downer60 8y ago

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, before the 2014 Ballmer/Nadella change-over. Also, Minecraft isn't exactly a start-up, but more of a celebrity among gaming projects, ranking closer to an endorsement/sponsorship deal.

WisNorCan 8y ago

Hmm... 1) Skype was purchased by Ballmer. 2) Most of the ad tech companies were also purchased by Ballmer. 3) Minecraft and Skype are not Bay Area companies 4) LinkedIn was a public company when Microsoft acquired them. So it seems like a stretch to call them a startup. 5) And finally it looks like Microsoft has done acquisitions throughout their existence. In fact, they acquired as many companies in 2007 as they did in 2018 and more in 2007 than 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitio... It doesn't seem like "buy lots of Bay Area Web 2.0 companies to infuse new talent" is the secret ingredient. Yahoo was the company that probably closest executed the strategy. That didn't go well as we all know.

jitl 8y ago
The other key part of that idea is the “lead shield” from the dinosaur parent company, and we know from many accounts that being integrated into the Yahoo culture is what killed their acquisitions.
tootie 8y ago
Man, I worked at aQuantive when it got bought for $6B by Ballmer. They took a $6B write down within a few years. They should have kept their money in the services part of that business instead of the second-rate ad tech.