This special edition of the GeekWire Podcast is the first in a four-episode series that we’ll be publishing in the months ahead as part of our year-long Microsoft @ 50 project, recognizing the company’s 50th anniversary in April 2025.
On this episode, we’ll take a fresh look at Microsoft’s startup story with tech historian and author Margaret O’Mara of the University of Washington, author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America; plus highlights from a recent conversation with David Marquardt, Microsoft’s first outside investor and a longtime board member.
Register here for our Microsoft @ 50 event, March 20, 2025, in Seattle.
Microsoft @ 50 is an independent GeekWire editorial project supported by Accenture.
With GeekWire Co-Founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

Amazon fixes Alexa voice ordering bug; Microsoft rethinks AI data centers; Stadium cameras capture every Seahawks fan
33:17

Alexa’s next act, Microsoft’s retail play, Google’s AI inbox, and a smart bird feeder fail
38:04

A silver lining for Seattle in the DJI ban, and the verdict on the 2007 Camry tech retrofit
23:24