ALTSCOUT

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a US technology giant listed on NASDAQ, headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Owner of Windows, Office, LinkedIn, GitHub, and Azure, it is subject to the CLOUD Act and has faced EU regulatory scrutiny over competition and data practices.

EUNon-EU

Brand Identity Data

HQ Country
United States
HQ City
Redmond
Founded
1975
EU Headquartered
No
EU Manufactured
No
Ownership Type
public
Stock Exchange
NASDAQ
Tax Domicile
US
Ultimate Parent
Microsoft Corporation
Data Hosting
mixed
CLOUD Act Exposure
Yes ⚠️
AI Trains on User Data
partial
GDPR Status
Fined €6M
DSA Designation
VLOP
Carbon Neutral
claimed
B Corp Certified
No
Supply Chain
disclosed
Repair / Recycling
Yes ✓
Ethical Certifications
None verified

Verified on August 2, 2026

Corporate Lineage

1975

Founded

Microsoft founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

1986

IPO

Microsoft went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

2013

EU Antitrust Fine

Fined 561 million EUR for non-compliance with browser choice commitments.

2016

LinkedIn Acquisition

Acquired LinkedIn for 26.2 billion USD.

2023

DSA Designation

Designated as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act.

European Alternatives to Microsoft

N

Nextcloud

Nextcloud is a German open-source collaboration platform offering file sync, calendar, video calls, and communication tools. Fully self-hostable and EU-owned, it is the leading European alternative to Google Workspace and Dropbox for on-premise deployments.

Compare Microsoft vs. Nextcloud

Verification Sources

  1. [1]Microsoft on Wikidata
  2. [2]Microsoft website