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Why did Microsoft acquire LinkedIn?

6•ninju•23h ago
It's been 10+ years since Microsoft acquired LinkedIn (June 2016) and I'm still curious what was going on in the MS executive board that drove them to that decision.

Microsoft is primarily a software company and does have a social media presence (unlike Google or Meta).

I haven't seen any large synergies come out of the acquisition either, maybe the subscriber data is useful somewhere but I don't see it.

Just curious

Comments

bediger4000•22h ago
As a Linux user, I assumed it was to embrace, extend, and extinguish. Gradually make LinkedIn work only with Windows and gradually force all seekers of new professional jobs to use Windows. In 2016, you basically had to have your resume in Word format, so they were halfway there.
PaulHoule•21h ago
That's not what happened though.

I mean, Microsoft wanted to take over the world with Windows in the 1990s but today with Azure they are happy to sell you an instance with Windows or an instance with whatever Linux you like. It's not clear at this point that Microsoft takes products like Windows or Office seriously in 2026 except as places to stuff in Microsoft Copilot.

The story of the Windows UI post Win 8 has all been about turning away from native apps to the web and webviews. Like it used to be new versions of Windows came out and we got new widget sets, after Microsoft got flexbox and grid into CSS it seems Microsoft's answer to "how do I make a Windows app?" is "use Electron."

fuzzfactor•19h ago
Didn't feel like they had anything better to do at the time?
PaulHoule•18m ago
I am not one to complain about moderation decisions but I wish I could revive laruss5's comment from the [dead] status. I mean, he's right.

Back in the mid 2010's my biz dev guy and I practically lived inside LinkedIn, it was one of the best resources for enterprise sales that there was and LinkedIn was making money hand over fist serving that market.

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