Where would we be without our successes and mistakes, right? Both are so necessary… And no matter how idealized we are compared to companies like Apple and CEOs like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates… In everyone's story there are lights and shadows. For example, Steve Jobs managed to save Apple from bankruptcy with a masterstroke, but Bill Gates missed the opportunity to dominate the mobile market in what he himself considers “the biggest mistake of all times.”
When Apple hit rock bottom and the success of an opportune purchase
In 1996, Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy. The company that had revolutionized IT in the 1980s began to record losses of 1,000 million and a market share that barely reaches 4%. Salvation came from the hand of someone who had been kicked out of the company years before: Steve Jobs.
Steve founded NeXT after leaving Apple in 1985. There he developed a revolutionary operating system called NeXTSTEP. Although the company never achieved great commercial successits technology was light years ahead of that of its competitors. Apple, desperate to find a new operating system after Copland's failure, ended up buying NeXT for $429 million.
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates
With this purchase, Apple not only acquired the basis for what would later become macOS, but also brought back Steve Jobs. From there it's the story we all know: Jobs transformed Apple with the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, taking the company from near bankruptcy to one of the most valuable companies in the world.
NeXTSTEP operating system
Bill Gates' 400 billion mistake
On the other side of the coin we find Bill Gates and his “biggest mistake ever”. During an interview, Bill Gates admitted that his worst decision was not to bet on the mobile market before Google, allowing Android to become the dominant operating system and the main competitor of iOS. “The biggest mistake of all was the mismanagement I dealt with that made Microsoft not what Android is,” Gates confessed. “It's a win-win market. If you have half as many apps or 90% of them, you're on the road to total ruin.”
The most curious thing about this story is the revelation from the co-founder of Android, who said that They developed the operating system precisely to prevent Microsoft from controlling phones. Through his X account, he did not hesitate to respond to Bill Gates: “I'm sorry, Bill, but you are more responsible for the loss of 400 billion dollars than you think.”
Microsoft tried to make up for lost ground with Windows Phone, but it was too late. As Bill explained, “There's room for exactly one non-Apple operating system“. And this space was already occupied by Android. The cost of this bad decision? About 400,000 million dollars.
This is not the only “help” that Microsoft has given to its competitors
Few people remember that in 1997, when Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy, it was precisely Microsoft that helped keep its biggest competitor afloat. Bill Gates appeared at the MacWorld Expo (to boos from the audience) to announce a $150 million investment in Apple and a commitment to continue development of Office for Mac for five years.
Internet Explorer on Mac OS
“Apple needs Microsoft and Microsoft needs Apple,” said Steve Jobs. This investment not only gave Apple the financial oxygen it needed, but I also sent a message of confidence which investors needed at such a critical time.
History has these ironies: the company that saved Apple in the 90s could have been the iPhone's main nightmare. “We learn from everything.” Jobs also made his mistakeslike trying to hire professional managers at Apple. But selling NeXT to the company that licensed him was a masterstroke. The next leadership race is AI. And although here Apple, Microsoft and Google have their alternatives… Microsoft is in the leading position. Apple is expanding Apple Intelligence to more languages, and for many experts, Google is second only to Gemini.
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