Microsoft vs Postman: Founders, CEOs and History
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Paul Allen and is led by Satya Nadella. Postman was founded in 2014 by Abhinav Asthana, Ankit Sobti, Abhijit Kane and is led by Abhinav Asthana.
Company facts
Founders
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.
Postman
Abhinav Asthana
Abhinav Asthana is the co-founder and CEO of Postman. He started Postman as a side project to make API testing less painful, released it free on the Chrome Web Store, and after it reached about 500,000 users recruited Ankit Sobti and Abhijit Kane to found the…
Ankit Sobti
Ankit Sobti is a co-founder of Postman and its Chief Technology Officer. He joined Asthana in 2014 to turn the Chrome app into a company and has overseen the engineering that took Postman from a browser extension to desktop and web clients and a cloud platform…
Abhijit Kane
Abhijit Kane is a co-founder of Postman. He was one of the two former colleagues Asthana recruited in 2014 when the Chrome app's growth made it clear Postman could be a company, and he remains part of the founding leadership team.
CEOs and their tenures
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
Postman
- Abhinav Asthana2014–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Created Postman in 2012, has led the company since incorporation, and raised about $433 million including the 2021 Series D at a $5.6 billion valuation.
Source - Ankit Sobti2014–present
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
Leads Postman's technology and engineering.
Source - Abhijit Kane2014–present
Co-Founder
Co-founded Postman with Asthana and Sobti and remains part of its founding leadership.
Source
Timeline: Microsoft and Postman 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.
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.
2012Postman
Postman Chrome app launched
Abhinav Asthana releases Postman free on the Chrome Web Store while working at Yahoo in Bengaluru.
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.
2014Postman
Postman, Inc. founded
Asthana, Ankit Sobti and Abhijit Kane form the company.
2015Postman
$1M seed round
Nexus Venture Partners leads Postman's seed round.
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.
2017Postman
HQ moves to San Francisco
Postman relocates its corporate headquarters from Bengaluru.
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.
2019Postman
$50M Series B
CRV leads Postman's Series B.
2020Postman
$150M Series C at $2B
Insight Partners leads the round.
2021Postman
$225M Series D at $5.6B
Insight Partners leads; Coatue, CRV, Nexus, Battery Ventures and BOND participate.
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.
2023Postman
Akita acquisition and Postbot
Postman buys Akita Software and introduces its Postbot AI assistant.
2024Postman
Orbit acquisition and Postman v11
Postman acquires Orbit and ships v11 with AI features.
2025Postman
liblab acquisition
Postman acquires SDK generation platform liblab in November.
2026Postman
Fern, new platform and Fabric Gateway
Fern acquired in January; AI-native platform and Free/Solo/Team/Enterprise pricing in March; Fabric Gateway generally available September 29.
Acquisitions
Microsoft
- Activision Blizzard2023$68.7B
- Nuance Communications2022$19.7B
- ZeniMax Media2021$7.5B
- GitHub2018$7.5B
- LinkedIn2016$26.2B
Postman
- Fern2026Undisclosed
- liblab2025Undisclosed
- Orbit2024Undisclosed
- Akita Software2023Undisclosed
Questions about Microsoft vs Postman
Who is the CEO of Microsoft Corporation and Postman, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation is led by Satya Nadella and Postman, Inc. is led by Abhinav Asthana. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Microsoft Corporation founded vs Postman, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 — 39 years before Postman, Inc., which was founded in 2014. Microsoft Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Postman, Inc..
How many employees does Microsoft Corporation have compared to Postman, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation employs approximately 223,000 people, while Postman, Inc. employs approximately 1,600. Microsoft Corporation has the larger workforce at 223,000 employees, compared to Postman, Inc.'s 1,600. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Microsoft Corporation and Postman, Inc. headquartered?
Both Microsoft Corporation and Postman, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Microsoft Corporation and Postman, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen. Postman, Inc. was founded by Abhinav Asthana, Ankit Sobti, Abhijit Kane.
Which company has a longer operating history — Microsoft Corporation or Postman, Inc.?
Microsoft Corporation has been operating for approximately 51 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Postman, Inc. has been in operation for around 12 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 Microsoft vs Postman overview