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Microsoft Co-Founder and Philanthropist Paul Allen Passes Away at 65

By Nitish Singh / October 16, 2018

Microsoft co-founder and Bill Gates’ childhood friend Paull Allen has passed away, leaving a legacy in the world of technology behind. Microsoft is one of the biggest names in technology and the way we see tech would not be the same without the brand.

Paul Allen and Bill Gates were childhood friends who co-founded Microsoft in 1975. Allen left the company back in 1983 while he was being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma but remained a board member at the company till 2000. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2009, and it went into remission soon after.

Following the news of his friend’s demise, Bill Gates said he is “heartbroken by the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends.” He went on to reminisce his time with Allen and commended him saying “From our early days together at Lakeside School, through our partnership in the creation of Microsoft, to some of our joint philanthropic projects over the years; Paul was a true partner and dear friend. Personal computing would not have existed without him.”

According to a memoir that was published in 2011, Allen said he was responsible for naming Microsoft and also behind the creation of the two-button mouse. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai paid their respects to the man on Twitter, calling him a pioneer in the industry. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Allen’s work inspired many around the world.

Outside of his time at Microsoft, Allen has been a philanthropist and had ventured into the world of sports, owning Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks to his name. Allen also invested in science having founded the Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2003 with a whopping investment of $500 million to the non-profit organization. Back in 2012 Allen revealed that his financial legacy would be allocated to non-profits.

We at Technadu acknowledge and respect what Paul Allen had to offer to Microsoft and beyond. May his soul rest in peace.

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