Bill Gates Opens Up About His $400,000,000,000 Mistake That Benefitted Android

Bill Gates who co-founded Microsoft and remained its CEO until 2000 has revealed his life’s “greatest mistake ever” that eventually cost the company $400,000,000,000. In a conversation with Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz at an event hosted by Village Global, the former Microsoft CEO regretted not making a mark in the smartphone operating system market, giving Google’s Android an upper hand to emerge as the second-best mobile platform after Apple’s iPhone OS 1.

“You know, in the software world, particularly for platforms, these are winner-take-all markets,” said Gates, adding that his “greatest mistake ever is the whatever mismanagement I engaged in that caused Microsoft not to be what Android is. Android is the standard non-Apple phone form platform.”

Apple’s first iPhone came out in 2007, followed by the launch of the first Android-powered smartphone in 2008. However, Microsoft — which dominated the PC market — joined the fray as late as 2010 when the mobile phone OS market was almost captured by iPhones and Android phones. Had Microsoft done what Google did, it could have secured a stronghold in the smartphone OS market, which was about $400 billion for the second player after Apple. In other words, Microsoft’s lack of enthusiasm allowed Google to sweep that sum and use it to make Android the world’s most popular mobile operating system.

“That was a natural thing for Microsoft to win.”

Gates who had realised that Microsoft was already late to rise to the occasion further added, “If you’re there with half as many apps or 90 per cent as many apps, you’re on your way to complete doom.” Microsoft's Windows Phone, which was commercially available through Nokia Lumia smartphones, struggled to stay afloat due to the lack of developer support and low penetration compared to Android and iPhone before it finally collapsed. Losing out on the smartphone OS market did not sit well with Microsoft, which ruled the PC market with a series of products and offerings that helped it garner a valuation of over $3 trillion. While that is an achievement, had Microsoft cracked the mobile OS market, “we would be the company,” according to Gates.

Gates’ remarks on his “mismanagement” that stymied Microsoft’s successful foray into the mobile phone OS market received a sharp reaction from none other than Android’s co-founder, Rich Miner. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Miner said, “I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC—stifling innovation.” According to Android’s co-creator, Google sought to capture a share of the mobile phone OS market with Android to keep it from turning monopolistic or duopolistic. But Microsoft’s lack of bullishness for the mobile phone OS market allowed Google to gain a lion’s share.

“So it’s always funny for me to hear Gates whine about losing mobile to Android,” said Miner.