1987- Fourthought (Microsoft) Powerpoint v1.0 Demo Guide for Apple Mac (Sealed) (8/2026)
Tags
Microsoft
Description
Microsoft’s purchase of PowerPoint from Forethought is one of the most important early acquisitions in Microsoft’s history. Here is a clear, sourced historical summary based on the search results.
Acquisition
Acquisition Method
EBay
Date
Aug 20, 2026
General Notes
Note
History of Microsoft’s Acquisition of PowerPoint from Forethought
Origins at Forethought (1983–1987)
Forethought, Inc. was founded in 1983 by Rob Campbell and Taylor Pohlman, originally to develop object‑oriented graphical applications.
In 1984, Forethought hired Robert Gaskins, who proposed a new presentation‑graphics application code‑named Presenter. Gaskins and Dennis Austin led its development.
As the product neared release in 1987, a naming conflict forced Forethought to rename Presenter to PowerPoint.
PowerPoint 1.0 Release (April 1987)
PowerPoint 1.0 shipped for the Apple Macintosh in April 1987, produced and sold under the Forethought brand. It generated black‑and‑white pages for overhead transparencies.
Microsoft’s Acquisition (July 1987)
Shortly after PowerPoint’s initial release, Microsoft purchased Forethought—and PowerPoint—for $14 million in July 1987.
This was Microsoft’s first significant software acquisition.
The PowerPoint team, including Gaskins and Austin, joined Microsoft and continued development.
Integration and Expansion (1987–1992)
After the acquisition:
Microsoft rebranded PowerPoint as a Microsoft product later in 1987.
A full‑color version shipped in 1988 after the Macintosh II was released.
PowerPoint 2.0 for both Macintosh and Windows shipped in May 1990, becoming part of the first Microsoft Office suite.
By 1993, PowerPoint was generating $100 million per year in sales and held a dominant market share.
Why Microsoft Bought PowerPoint
Microsoft recognized that:
Presentation graphics were becoming essential in business computing.
PowerPoint complemented Word and Excel, helping form a unified productivity suite.
Forethought’s team had already built a polished, GUI‑native application that fit Microsoft’s long‑term Windows strategy.
The acquisition ultimately helped define Microsoft Office, which became the most successful software suite in history.
