GitHub
Company
Key facts about this entity
- Founded 2008 in San Francisco
- Series B: $250 million led by Sequoia at about $2 billion (July 2015)
- Acquired by Microsoft for $7.5 billion in stock (closed 26 October 2018)
- August 2025: moved into Microsoft's CoreAI organisation after CEO Thomas Dohmke announced his departure
- Listed on TUM's 'Unicorns founded by TUM alumni' list (dated 4 August 2026) as acquired by Microsoft
- No public source found linking a GitHub co-founder to TUM (as of October 2026)
Entity Profile
Overview
GitHub, Inc. runs the world's largest platform for hosting, reviewing and collaborating on source code, and sells the AI coding assistant GitHub Copilot. It has been a Microsoft subsidiary since October 2018.
Why this entity matters
GitHub is on the Technical University of Munich's August 2026 list of unicorns founded by TUM alumni, supplied to Startuprad.io by UnternehmerTUM's press office in October 2026, where it is marked acquired by Microsoft. Startuprad.io found no public source linking any of GitHub's co-founders to TUM; the basis for its inclusion is a question for TUM's press office. No UnternehmerTUM programme or UVC Partners investment has been documented.
Company history and product
Founded in 2008, GitHub raised a Series A from Andreessen Horowitz in 2012 and a $250 million Series B led by Sequoia in July 2015 at a reported valuation of about $2 billion. Microsoft acquired it for $7.5 billion in stock, closing on 26 October 2018. In August 2025 CEO Thomas Dohmke announced his departure and GitHub was moved into Microsoft's CoreAI organisation.
Role in the European start-up landscape
GitHub is a US company. Its relevance to Germany, Austria and Switzerland is as core infrastructure for every software start-up in the region, and through German former CEO Thomas Dohmke (not a co-founder).
Selected relationships and affiliations
Founders: Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, P. J. Hyett, Scott Chacon. Parent: Microsoft (since October 2018). Investors before the acquisition: Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Institutional Venture Partners.
Startuprad.io relevance
GitHub is covered in Startuprad.io's Unicorn Atlas special on the 23-company list of unicorns founded by TUM alumni, which UnternehmerTUM's press office supplied to Startuprad.io in October 2026. The special checks each company's TUM link, its billion-dollar milestone and any documented UnternehmerTUM programme or investment.
Public source context
This profile is drawn from public sources including VentureBeat, Microsoft, Outlook Business and Startuprad.io coverage. Time-sensitive figures, including valuations and ownership, are reported with their dates and should be re-verified against primary sources before commercial use.
Startuprad.io coverage of GitHub
GitHub appears in the following Startuprad.io interviews, news and analysis.
Exclusive: The 23-Unicorn List UnternehmerTUM Gave Us — and Where Its Role Is on Record
Published: 26 October 2026
Last updated: 26 October 2026
Coverage type: Analysis
https://www.startuprad.io/post/exclusive-the-23-unicorn-list-unternehmertum-gave-us-and-where-its-role-is-on-record
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Canonical record: https://www.startuprad.io/entities/github