Automation Anywhere vs Microsoft: Founders, CEOs and History
Automation Anywhere was founded in 2003 by Mihir Shukla, Ankur Kothari, Neeti Mehta Shukla and is led by Mihir Shukla. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Paul Allen and is led by Satya Nadella.
Company facts
Automation Anywhere
- Founded
- 2003
- Headquarters
- San Jose, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Mihir Shukla
- Employees
- 2,400
Microsoft
- Founded
- 1975
- Headquarters
- Redmond, Washington, United States
- Current CEO
- Satya Nadella
- Employees
- 223,000
Founders
Automation Anywhere
Mihir Shukla
Mihir Shukla is co-founder, chief executive officer and board chair of Automation Anywhere, and the only chief executive the company has had.
Ankur Kothari
Ankur Kothari is a co-founder of Automation Anywhere and its chief operating officer, and sits on the board.
Neeti Mehta Shukla
Neeti Mehta Shukla is a co-founder of Automation Anywhere and its chief impact officer. She started the company in 2003 with her husband, Mihir Shukla, alongside Ankur Kothari and Rushabh Parmani, launching it from the guest bedroom of their house.
Rushabh Parmani
Rushabh Parmani is a co-founder of Automation Anywhere and its chief customer officer. He started the business in 2003, originally named Tethys Solutions, alongside Mihir Shukla, Neeti Mehta Shukla and Ankur Kothari.
Microsoft
Bill Gates
Microsoft possesses arguably the most well-known, foundational founding story of the entire personal computing revolution, rooted in the intense, effective partnership of two teenage computer prodigies who recognized the software potential of the microcomputer…
Paul Allen
Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft and was crucial to its earliest technical and strategic decisions. He helped develop Altair BASIC, gave the company its original name, and participated in the operating-system opportunity that led to MS-DOS.
CEOs and their tenures
Automation Anywhere
- Mihir Shukla2003–present
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair
Co-founded the company in 2003, has been its only chief executive, and is also board chair. Serves as an information and communications technology governor at the World Economic Forum, where he speaks on agentic enterprise operations.
Source
Microsoft
- Bill Gates1975–2000
Co-founder and CEO
Gates built Microsoft's licensing model: software sold to many hardware makers rather than tied to one.
Source - Steve Ballmer2000–2014
CEO
Ballmer grew revenue from about $23 billion in FY2000 to about $78 billion in FY2013 and built the enterprise server and sales business that Azure later scaled on.
Source - Satya Nadella2014–present
Chairman and CEO
Nadella made Azure and Microsoft 365 the company's core, opened Microsoft to Linux and open source, and positioned it early in generative AI through OpenAI.
Source
Timeline: Automation Anywhere and Microsoft side by side
1975Microsoft
Microsoft Founded
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft after recognizing that the Altair 8800 needed usable programming software. Their first product, Altair BASIC, turned a hobbyist computer kit into a programmable platform.
1981Microsoft
MS-DOS Ships With IBM PC
IBM introduced its personal computer with MS-DOS 1.0 and other Microsoft products. The milestone mattered because Microsoft's operating-system work moved from a small software supplier's project into the emerging corporate PC standard.
1985Microsoft
Windows Launch
The release of Windows 1.0 began Microsoft's long move from command-line operating systems to graphical personal computing. The first version was not an instant blockbuster, but it gave Microsoft a user-interface path that could evolve with PC hardware.
1990Microsoft
Office Suite Release
The bundling of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into Microsoft Office created a productivity suite that became central to business work. The bundle simplified enterprise purchasing and made file compatibility a competitive weapon.
1998Microsoft
U.S. Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Microsoft of using Windows power to suppress browser competition. The case mattered because it placed Microsoft's platform tactics under public and legal scrutiny at the height of its PC strong position.
2003Automation Anywhere
Incorporation as Tethys Solutions in San Jose: Mihir Shukla, Neeti Mehta Shukla, Ankur Kothari and Rushabh Parmani incorporated Tethys Solutions, LLC in San Jose, California, selling software that rec…
2010Automation Anywhere
Renamed Automation Anywhere, Inc.: The company rebranded from Tethys Solutions to Automation Anywhere, Inc.
2010Microsoft
Azure Commercial Launch
Azure gave Microsoft a way to compete in cloud infrastructure as enterprise customers began shifting workloads away from company-owned servers.
2014Microsoft
Satya Nadella CEO
Satya Nadella became CEO and moved Microsoft away from a strategy that forced every product to serve Windows. He prioritized Azure, Microsoft 365, open source, Linux support, cross-platform software, and a more collaborative developer posture.
2016Microsoft
LinkedIn Acquisition
Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash. The deal mattered because it added a professional identity network to a company already strong in Office, Dynamics, cloud services, recruiting tools, advertising, and enterprise sales.
2017Automation Anywhere
First Imagine customer conference: Automation Anywhere held its first Imagine customer and partner event in New York on May 24 and 25, 2017, and ran a second Imagine in Bengaluru in September of the s…
2018Automation Anywhere
Bot Store opens as an RPA bot marketplace: Launched in London in March 2018, Bot Store offered prebuilt, plug and play bots from Automation Anywhere and partners including EY and Genpact, cutting the…
2018Automation Anywhere
$250M Series A at a $1.8B valuation: After fifteen years without institutional equity, the company raised $250 million on July 2, 2018 led by New Enterprise Associates and Goldman Sachs Growth Equity,…
2018Automation Anywhere
SoftBank Vision Fund adds $300M: In November 2018 the SoftBank Vision Fund invested $300 million as an extension of the Series A, taking the round to $550 million and the post-money valuation to $2.6…
2018Microsoft
GitHub Acquisition
Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock, reversing years of developer skepticism toward the company. The acquisition placed Microsoft inside the daily workflow of software developers across languages, clouds, and operating systems.
2019Automation Anywhere
Acquisition of Klevops in Paris: Automation Anywhere acquired Klevops SAS of Paris in August 2019 to orchestrate work between employees and bots, the technology behind the attended automation interfac…
2019Automation Anywhere
Enterprise A2019 launches as a web-based platform: In October 2019 the company shipped Enterprise A2019, a cloud-native browser-based rewrite that it said added more than 175 features across 40 produc…
2019Automation Anywhere
$290M Series B at a $6.8B valuation: Salesforce Ventures led a $290 million Series B announced on November 21, 2019, with SoftBank Investment Advisers and Goldman Sachs participating, at a $6.8 billio…
2020Automation Anywhere
Pandemic restructuring and workforce reduction: In April 2020 Automation Anywhere cut jobs and restructured parts of the company, saying the COVID-19 pandemic and the change it brought to the global e…
2021Automation Anywhere
Enterprise A2019 rebranded Automation 360: In March 2021 the company introduced Automation 360 as the brand for its unified cloud-native platform and widened deployment across AWS, Microsoft Azure and…
2021Automation Anywhere
Acquisition of FortressIQ for process discovery: Announced in December 2021, the FortressIQ deal added computer vision process discovery that maps how work is done across applications and turns it int…
2023Automation Anywhere
Start of an unbroken non-GAAP profitable run: The quarter ended October 31, 2023 began the run of non-GAAP profitable quarters with positive free cash flow that the company counted as ten by the quart…
2023Microsoft
AI Leadership
Microsoft's expanded OpenAI partnership and Copilot product rollout placed the company at the center of enterprise generative AI adoption.
2023Microsoft
Activision Blizzard Acquisition Closes
Microsoft completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition after intense regulatory review. The deal added Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Candy Crush, and other franchises to Microsoft Gaming.
2024Automation Anywhere
AI plus Automation Enterprise System and AI Agent Studio: At Imagine 2024 in Austin in June 2024 the company unveiled an AI plus Automation Enterprise System with AI Agent Studio, letting customers bu…
2025Automation Anywhere
Acquisition of Aisera: On November 4, 2025 Automation Anywhere acquired Aisera and its team of more than 100 AI engineers, adding self-service AI agents for IT service management, HR and customer serv…
2026Automation Anywhere
OpenAI collaboration and a tenth profitable quarter: Reporting the quarter ended January 31, 2026, Automation Anywhere recorded its tenth consecutive non-GAAP profitable quarter, said AI products were…
Acquisitions
Automation Anywhere
- Aisera2025Undisclosed
- FortressIQ2021Undisclosed
- Klevops2019Undisclosed
Microsoft
- Activision Blizzard2023$68.7B
- Nuance Communications2022$19.7B
- ZeniMax Media2021$7.5B
- GitHub2018$7.5B
- LinkedIn2016$26.2B
Questions about Automation Anywhere vs Microsoft
Who is the CEO of Automation Anywhere and Microsoft Corporation?
Automation Anywhere is led by Mihir Shukla and Microsoft Corporation is led by Satya Nadella. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Automation Anywhere founded vs Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 — 28 years before Automation Anywhere, which was founded in 2003. Microsoft Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Automation Anywhere.
How many employees does Automation Anywhere have compared to Microsoft Corporation?
Automation Anywhere employs approximately 2,400 people, while Microsoft Corporation employs approximately 223,000. Microsoft Corporation has the larger workforce at 223,000 employees, compared to Automation Anywhere's 2,400. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Automation Anywhere and Microsoft Corporation headquartered?
Both Automation Anywhere and Microsoft Corporation are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Automation Anywhere and Microsoft Corporation?
Automation Anywhere was founded by Mihir Shukla, Ankur Kothari, Neeti Mehta Shukla, Rushabh Parmani. Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen.
Which company has a longer operating history — Automation Anywhere or Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation has been operating for approximately 51 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Automation Anywhere has been in operation for around 23 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Automation Anywhere vs Microsoft overview