During the PC’s age of dominance, Microsoft ruled the tech industry and Bill Gates was the richest man in the world. Then Apple came along and prioritized mobile, making it the biggest and Steve Jobs arguably the most significant businessman of our time.
Throughout the industry shifts, IBM of all companies has been right there, sailing along just fine. From floppy disks to Watson artificial intelligence, IBM has consistently fostered tech innovation and as a result, has just surpassed Microsoft in market value—$214 billion to Microsoft’s $213 billion—for the first time since 1996. Apple remains the clear-cut number one with a value of about $362 billion.
As for Microsoft, though it’s been pipped, that’s not to say it’s on the decline. With its once-questionable foray into video games an unabashed success, it could very well make its way back to the top.
[via Gizmodo]
