Microsoft Corp. has reached an agreement to acquire world-leading software developer GitHub for $7.5 billion in Microsoft stock. Working together, the companies will assist the over 28 million developers currently working with GitHub at every stage of the development lifecycle, while leveraging Microsoft’s developer tools and services.
Despite the acquisition, GitHub will operate independently, continuing to provide an open platform for developers across all industries. Their developer-first ethos will not change, with all of their programming languages, operating systems, and tools remaining available. Developers retain the ability to deploy their codes to any device, cloud, or operating system.
“I’m extremely proud of what GitHub and our community have accomplished over the past decade, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. The future of software development is bright, and I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Microsoft to help make it a reality,” said Chris Wanstrath, current CEO of GitHub in the press announcement. “Their focus on developers lines up perfectly with our own, and their scale, tools and global cloud will play a huge role in making GitHub even more valuable for developers everywhere.”
Nat Friedman, founder of Xamarin, open-source veteran, and Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President, will assume the role of GitHub’s CEO as part of the acquisition. The acquisition is projected to close before the end of the calendar year, with all GitHub financials expected to be reported under Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment.
