ICICI Bank vs Microsoft: Founders, CEOs and History
ICICI Bank was founded in 1994 by Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India and is led by Sandeep Bakhshi. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Paul Allen and is led by Satya Nadella.
Company facts
ICICI Bank
- Founded
- 1994
- Headquarters
- Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Current CEO
- Sandeep Bakhshi
- Employees
- 124,029
Microsoft
- Founded
- 1975
- Headquarters
- Redmond, Washington, United States
- Current CEO
- Satya Nadella
- Employees
- 223,000
Founders
ICICI Bank
Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India
The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) was established in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India, and representatives of Indian industry.
Microsoft
Bill Gates
Microsoft was founded in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, childhood friends from Seattle who had spent their teenage years finding ways to get free time on mainframe computers.
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
ICICI Bank
- K V Kamath1996–2009
CEO & Managing Director
Kamath built ICICI's reputation for technology-led banking, early ATMs, internet banking, and retail credit, and oversaw the 2002 reverse merger that created the modern bank.
Source - Chanda Kochhar2009–2018
CEO & Managing Director
Kochhar expanded ICICI Bank's retail franchise and brand reach, but her tenure ended amid the Videocon controversy and a sharp rise in bad corporate loans.
Source - Sandeep Bakhshi2018–present
Managing Director & CEO
Bakhshi is credited with restoring investor and regulator trust after 2018 and turning ICICI Bank into a lower-risk, steadily compounding lender, with net NPAs around 0.3% in 2026.
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: ICICI Bank and Microsoft side by side
1955ICICI Bank
ICICI Founded as Development-Finance Institution
ICICI was formed to provide medium- and long-term project finance to Indian businesses.
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.
1986Microsoft
Microsoft IPO
Microsoft went public on the Nasdaq in March 1986.
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.
1994ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Incorporated
ICICI Bank was incorporated as part of the ICICI group during India's post-liberalization banking opening. The move gave ICICI a deposit-taking commercial bank able to serve retail, corporate, and transaction-banking customers.
1995Microsoft
Windows 95 Released
Microsoft released Windows 95 in August 1995.
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.
1999ICICI Bank
NYSE Listing Milestone
ICICI became the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to list on the New York Stock Exchange. The listing expanded global visibility and imposed a higher disclosure profile on the group.
2001ICICI Bank
Bank of Madura Amalgamation
Bank of Madura was amalgamated with ICICI Bank with effect from March 10, 2001. The deal added branches, customers, and a southern India presence that helped the young bank build distribution faster than organic expansion alone.
2002ICICI Bank
Reverse Merger Created Universal Bank
ICICI, ICICI Personal Financial Services, and ICICI Capital Services merged into ICICI Bank.
2010ICICI Bank
Bank of Rajasthan Merger
The Bank of Rajasthan merger strengthened ICICI Bank's branch network, especially in northern and western India. The transaction mattered because local branches and deposits still supported private-bank scale even as digital channels were growing.
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.
2018ICICI Bank
Sandeep Bakhshi Became MD and CEO
Sandeep Bakhshi became Managing Director and CEO in October 2018 after Chanda Kochhar requested early retirement. His tenure has been associated with a sharper focus on risk controls, asset quality, governance, and steady retail-led growth.
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.
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.
2025ICICI Bank
FY2025 Balance Sheet Scale
The FY2025 integrated report listed Rs 16,103.48B in deposits, Rs 13,417.66B in loans and advances, Rs 21,182.40B in standalone total assets, and a 16.55% capital adequacy ratio.
2025ICICI Bank
FY2025 Profitability
ICICI Bank reported Rs 472.27B in standalone profit after tax and Rs 510.29B in consolidated profit after tax for FY2025. Profitability matters because the bank has to fund technology, compliance, provisions, and growth while keeping capital strong.
2025ICICI Bank
IMobile and Card Scale
IMobile processed 558M transactions worth Rs 11,238B in FY2025, and the bank had close to 18M active credit cards at March 31, 2025.
2026ICICI Bank
Q1 FY2027 Profit Up 15.9%
Standalone profit rose 15.9% to Rs 14,805 crore for April-June 2026, with net interest income up 12.7% and net NPAs at 0.35%.
2026ICICI Bank
Bakhshi Reappointed to 2028
The RBI approved Sandeep Bakhshi's reappointment as MD and CEO for two years from October 4, 2026.
2026ICICI Bank
FY2026 Profit Crosses Rs 50,000 Crore
Standalone net profit rose 6.2% to Rs 50,146.6 crore in FY2026, with a 4.32% net interest margin and 15.8% loan growth.
Acquisitions
ICICI Bank
- Bank of Rajasthan2010Undisclosed
- The Sangli Bank2007Undisclosed
- Bank of Madura2001Undisclosed
- Anagram Finance1998Undisclosed
- ITC Classic Finance1997Undisclosed
Microsoft
- Activision Blizzard2023$68.7B
- Nuance Communications2022$19.7B
- ZeniMax Media2021$7.5B
- GitHub2018$7.5B
- LinkedIn2016$26.2B
Questions about ICICI Bank vs Microsoft
Who is the CEO of ICICI Bank Limited and Microsoft Corporation?
ICICI Bank Limited is led by Sandeep Bakhshi 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 ICICI Bank Limited founded vs Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 — 19 years before ICICI Bank Limited, which was founded in 1994. Microsoft Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger ICICI Bank Limited.
How many employees does ICICI Bank Limited have compared to Microsoft Corporation?
ICICI Bank Limited employs approximately 124,029 people, while Microsoft Corporation employs approximately 223,000. Microsoft Corporation has the larger workforce at 223,000 employees, compared to ICICI Bank Limited's 124,029. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are ICICI Bank Limited and Microsoft Corporation headquartered?
ICICI Bank Limited is headquartered in India and Microsoft Corporation is headquartered in United States. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded ICICI Bank Limited and Microsoft Corporation?
ICICI Bank Limited was founded by Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India. Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen.
Which company has a longer operating history — ICICI Bank Limited or Microsoft Corporation?
Microsoft Corporation has been operating for approximately 51 years, making it the more established of the two companies. ICICI Bank Limited has been in operation for around 32 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 ICICI Bank vs Microsoft overview