Android co-founder to Bill Gates: 'You're more responsible for Microsoft losing the $400 billion'

Android co-founder Rich Miner and (right) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (Image credit: X, AFP)

After Bill Gates acknowledged that Microsoft faced a loss of $400 billion after losing the mobile market to Android, Android co-founder Rich Miner attributed it largely to Gates's own decisions.

"I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC - stifling innovation. So it's always funny for me to hear Gates whine about losing mobile to Android," Miner wrote on X, reacting to Gates's comments about Microsoft's biggest mistake.

I literally helped create Android to prevent Microsoft from controlling the phone the way they did the PC - stifling innovation. So it's always funny for me to hear Gates whine about losing mobile to Android
Retweet if you think I should share our original pitch deck1/2 pic.twitter.com/urjZWK0yHE Rich Miner (@richminer) January 14, 2025

Miner said he had concerns about Microsoft creating a monopoly of the mobile market while working on the first Windows Mobile phone.

"I helped Orange launch the first Windows Mobile phone in 2002, the SPV. I worried MSFT might end up controlling mobile like they did the PC, I wanted something more open. So, sorry Bill, you're more responsible for losing the $400B than you realise," he said.

Miner's comments come after Gates admitted to Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz that Microsoft's failure to take over the smartphone market was "one of the greatest mistakes of all time."

“You know, in the software world, in particular for platforms, these are winner-take-all markets,” Gates said while admitting he was part of some sort of “mismanagement” at Microsoft that caused it to lose out on what Android is today. Terming it as his “greatest mistake,” Gates added that it was “a natural thing for Microsoft to win” against Apple in the phone market.

At the time, Microsoft was Apple's top rival working tirelessly to expand into new areas including the phone business.