Markets history
The crowd booed Microsoft's $150 million investment in Apple in 1997
By the newsroom · · 1 min read · ▶ 0:50
The essentials
- At Macworld Boston on August 6, 1997, Microsoft said it would invest $150 million in non-voting Apple stock.[1][2]
- Steve Jobs told the crowd that Microsoft had agreed not to sell the shares for at least three years.[1]
- Michael Dell said on October 6, 1997, that he would "shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."[3]
- As of November 2026, Apple has a market cap of $5.087 trillion, according to CompaniesMarketCap.[4]
What happened
Jobs introduced himself at the keynote as the "Chairman and CEO of Pixar."[1] He said Microsoft was committing to release Microsoft Office on Macintosh for the next five years.[1] Apple agreed to drop its suit alleging that Windows copied the look-and-feel of the Mac OS, and new Macs would ship with Internet Explorer as their default browser.[5] Bill Gates appeared through a live video feed on the huge screen behind Jobs.[5]
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What the video doesn't say
Jobs also told the audience that "Apple plus Microsoft equals 100% of the desktop computer market."[1] Gates said Microsoft had "over 8 million customers" using its software on the Macintosh.[1] Apple became profitable again the very next year, and the original iMac launched in 1998.[3]
Sources
- 1Steve Jobs at Macworld Boston in 1997Stratechery by Ben Thompson · June 27, 2013
- 2Microsoft and Apple Affirm Commitment To Build Next Generation Software for Macintosh - SourceSource · August 6, 1997
- 3Today in Apple history: Michael Dell says he'd shut down AppleCult of Mac · October 6, 2026
- 4Apple (AAPL) - Market capitalizationcompaniesmarketcap.com
- 51997: Microsoft Saves Apple - Low End MacLow End Mac · August 6, 2012
Photos: Coolcaesar (CC BY-SA 4.0), King of Hearts (CC BY-SA 4.0), Joe Ravi (Shutterstock iStock Dreamstime) (CC BY-SA 3.0), Mike Mozart (CC BY 2.0), Museo8bits (CC BY-SA 2.5), Hanul (CC BY 2.0), World Economic Forum (CC BY-SA 2.0), Village Global (CC BY 2.0), PawelkoP (CC BY-SA 4.0), Daniel L. Lu (user:dllu) (CC BY-SA 4.0), Joi Ito from Inbamura, Japan (CC BY 2.0), Jorge Láscar from Australia (CC BY 2.0), Anders Carlsson (CC BY 2.0), Rderijcke (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped.
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