Paul Allen, who died in October 2018, was the co founder of which major technology company?

Introduction / Context:
Paul Allen was a well known American technologist, investor, and philanthropist who helped to shape the early personal computer industry. This question checks basic computer general knowledge about the co founders of major technology companies. Knowing who started which company helps learners connect historical figures with the organisations and products they created, such as Microsoft Windows, Office, and other widely used software.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We are told that Paul Allen died in October 2018.
• He is described as a co founder, meaning he started a company along with at least one other person.
• The options list large and well known technology companies: Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP, plus a generic distractor option.
• We assume the question refers to his most famous and historically documented role.

Concept / Approach:
The approach here is based on factual recall of computer history. Learners should know that Microsoft was co founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Other listed companies have different founders: Oracle was co founded by Larry Ellison and others, IBM evolved from earlier firms and has a different origin story, and SAP was founded by former IBM engineers. By matching the correct founder–company pair, we can identify the only option that correctly associates Paul Allen with the company he helped to start.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that Paul Allen worked closely with Bill Gates in the early days of personal computing and microcomputer software.Step 2: Remember that Bill Gates and Paul Allen together created a company that would later be known worldwide as Microsoft.Step 3: Compare this fact with the options. Microsoft appears exactly as option C, while the other companies have different founders.Step 4: Confirm that Oracle, IBM, and SAP are important technology companies but are historically not associated with Paul Allen as a co founder.Step 5: Conclude that Microsoft is the only correct answer.

Verification / Alternative Check:
As an alternative check, think about famous pairs in computing history. Bill Gates and Paul Allen are almost always mentioned together in the context of founding Microsoft and building software for early microcomputers. When reading technology history, articles and biographies strongly connect Paul Allen with Microsoft products and the development of MS DOS and early versions of Windows. No similar association is consistently made between Paul Allen and Oracle, IBM, or SAP. This cross check supports the selection of Microsoft as the correct company.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Oracle is known for its database products and was co founded by Larry Ellison and associates, not Paul Allen. IBM is a much older company that grew out of earlier business machine firms and predates the microcomputer era in which Paul Allen was active. SAP was founded in Germany by former IBM employees and has its own distinct group of founders. The generic option None of these is incorrect because one of the named companies, Microsoft, is in fact correct.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to confuse the founders of different well known companies or to assume that any big software company might be correct. Learners might also misremember Oracle or IBM due to their strong presence in enterprise computing. Another pitfall is not clearly distinguishing between early pioneers of personal computing like Paul Allen and founders of older or enterprise focused companies. Carefully connecting each person with the specific company they helped to create avoids these errors.

Final Answer:
The company co founded by Paul Allen is Microsoft.