| Name of company/software | Key Software | Technology | Date | Amount Invested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating System | ||||
| Stac Electronics | Stacker | Disk compression software | 1994 | $39.9 million |
| Aha software | Smart Ink, InkWriter | Handwriting recognition | 1996 | not disclosed |
| Lernout & Hauspie | Speech recognition software | 1997 | $45 million | |
Desktop Applications | ||||
| Fox Software | FoxPro | Database software | 1992 | $175 million |
| Altamira | Composer | Graphics software | 1993? | not disclosed |
Server Operating Systems & Enterprise Computing | ||||
| Santa Cruz Operation | UNIX | Server operating system | 1989 | 20% stake (still 11.5%) |
| Netwise | Transaccess | Linking databases to mainframes | 1995 | not disclosed |
| Panorama Software Systems | Multidimensional database | 1996 | not disclosed | |
| Trados | Translators Workbench | Multilingual document production facilities for software developers. | 1997 | 20% stake |
| Wildfire Communications | Wildfire | Voice recognition integrated into Microsoft's Outlook e-mail | 1997 | Equity investment (undisclosed amount) |
Vendor Training & Professional Services | ||||
| VANstar | Professional services and skills aimed at enterprise computing | 1995 | Equity stake and funded training for its engineers | |
| ENTEX Information Services | Professional services and technical | 1996 | 5% stake with training | |
| XLConnect Solutions Inc. | Professional services and skills | 1997 | Equity stake with training | |
Multimedia Internet Standards | ||||
| VDONet Corp. | VDO Wave technology | Video steaming | 1996 | 5% stake |
| Progressive Networks Inc | RealAudio | Audio/Video streaming | 1997 | 10% stake |
| Vxtreme | Video streaming | 1997 | $75 million | |
Internet and Enterprise Development Tools | ||||
| One Tree | SourceSafe | Source code management; used in Visual Basic and Visual Studio | 1994 | not disclosed |
| Vermeer | Vermeer (renamed Frontpage) | Web site editor & management | 1996 | $80 to $130 million |
| NetCarta | Web Mapper (now Site Analyst) | Web site management | 1996 | $20 million |
| Aspect Engineering | dbWeb | Internet Tools for the Web | 1996 | not disclosed |
| ResNova Software | WebforOne and Boulevard | Mac Web server Software company | 1996 | not disclosed |
| Proginet Corp | TransAccess, Proginet Oasis | Linking Web applications to mainframes | Dec 1996 | not disclosed (10% stake) |
| Interse Corp. | Market Focus (now Usage Analyst) | Web site analysis (incorporated in MS Site Server) | 1997 | not disclosed |
| Coopers & Peters | EyeOpener | Java and Smalltalk tools, add to MS AFC | 1997 | not disclosed |
| `LinkAge Software Inc. | NotesConnector and email software | Support Microsoft Exchange on e-mail in enterprise computing | 1997 | not disclosed |
Java-related investments | ||||
| Colusa | OmniVM | Java-like object-oriented software | 1996 | not disclosed |
| Dimension X | Liquid Motion | Interactive software, key java tools | 1997 | not disclosed |
| Apple Computer | MacOS | Computer company | 1997 | $150 million (stake) |
Internet Financial Transactions | ||||
| eShop | Secure Internet retailing & payment system for Merchant Server. | 1996 | not disclosed | |
On-line News Media | ||||
| MSNBC | MSNBC | On-line news | 1995 | $500 million |
| Individual Inc. | iNews | Customized business news services | 1995 | 7.4% stake |
| Black Entertainment Television | MSBET | On-line news & entertainment | 1996 | not disclosed (joint ownership with BET) |
Interactive Entertainment/Games | ||||
| Softimage | Softimage | High-level 3D animation | 1994 | $177 million |
| DreamWorks Interactive | Multimedia titles | 1994 | $30 million (50% stake) | |
| Dreamworks SKG | Movies, music and entertainment | 1994 | not disclosed | |
| RenderMorphics Ltd. | Reality Lab | 3D graphics for games | 1995 | not disclosed |
| Bruce Artwick Organization | Flight Simulator | Games software | 1995 | not disclosed |
| SingleTrac Entertainmnet | Twisted Metal | Game software. | 1996 | not disclosed |
| Atomic Games | World at War, etc. | Games software | 1996 | publishing titles |
| Rainbow America | Fury 3 | Games software | 1996 | publishing titles |
| Exos | Force Feedback | Joystick and input devices | 1996 | not disclosed |
| Electric Gravity | Internet Gaming Zone | On-line gaming environment | 1996 | not disclosed |
Internet Access & Cable | ||||
| UUNet | Internet network infrastructure | 1994 | 13% stake (bought by MFS in 1996) | |
| Web TV Networks | Internet access device | 1997 | $425 million | |
| Navitel | Internet telephone software to integrate into Windows CE & WebTV | 1997 | not disclosed (minority stake) | |
| Comcast Corp | Cable company, QVC | 1997 | $1 billion (10% stake) | |
Note: Bill Gates has also made personal investments through his digital image archive company Corbis and in his proposed $9 billion joint venture in the Teledesic company seeking to create high-speed satellite access to the Internet.
Next: The Core: Leveraging the Operating System for Desktop Dominance
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