Microsoft on Amazon’s Heels with $7.5 Billion GitHub Purchase

By Megha Shah - Last Updated on September 28, 2020

In an attempt to compete with rising tech giant Amazon, Microsoft announced on Monday that it would be acquiring software development platform GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock.

Based on Forbes estimates, GitHub co-founder and CEO Chris Wanstrath will receive as much as $1.5 Billion in Microsoft stocks.

GitHub was founded in 2008 with the goal of facilitating collaboration between software developers. Over the years, it has grown into one of the world’s largest repositories of code. “More than 28 million developers already collaborate on GitHub,” Microsoft said in a statement confirming the buyout.

“This isn’t only a milestone for GitHub’s founders and partners,” said Jim Goetz, a partner at Sequoia Capital, which invested in GitHub in a separate statement celebrating the deal. “This is also a landmark moment for every developer with an idea and a keyboard.”

“Microsoft is a developer-first company, and by joining forces with GitHub we strengthen our commitment to developer freedom, openness, and innovation,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “We recognize the community responsibility we take on with this agreement and will do our best work to empower every developer to build, innovate and solve the world’s most pressing challenges.”

“I’m extremely proud of what GitHub and our community have accomplished over the past decade, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. The future of software development is bright, and I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Microsoft to help make it a reality,” Wanstrath said. “Their focus on developers lines up perfectly with our own, and their scale, tools and global cloud will play a huge role in making GitHub even more valuable for developers everywhere.”

Following the buyout, Wanstrath’s post of CEO will be taken over by Nat Friedman, a Microsoft Vice President. Wanstrath will, however, stay on as a technical fellow at Microsoft. The deal is expected to close later this year.

Megha Shah | A dreamer, traveler, aspiring entrepreneur and a bookworm beyond repair, Megha Shah is extremely fond of writing and has been doing so since she was a child. Apart from being a part-time writer, Megha is currently in college, pursuing B. Com. (Hons). Megha is an ardent follower of ‘Hardship, Hustle and Heart’ and firmly believes in the power of hard work and destiny!

Megha Shah | A dreamer, traveler, aspiring entrepreneur and a bookworm beyond repair, Megha Shah is extremely fond of writing and has been doing so since she wa...

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