Final answer:
Bill Gates and Paul Allen are the co-founders of Microsoft, an influential technology company that has faced and overcome significant legal challenges over the years while continuing to expand its suite of products and services.
Step-by-step explanation:
The founders of Microsoft are Bill Gates and Paul Allen. They established the company on April 4, 1975, with Gates as CEO, garnering acclaim for the development of the personal computer operating system, MS-DOS, and subsequently Windows. Microsoft has grown from a small software vendor to a giant in the tech industry, with products ranging from operating systems to cloud services and gaming consoles. Despite legal challenges, like the antitrust case in April 2000 where the company faced allegations of unfair competition, Microsoft has continued to thrive. It ultimately avoided the recommended corporate breakup and has remained a unified and dominant force in the tech world after settling with the government in November 2002 to end its restrictive practices.