FRENEMIES OF FORTUNE

When Tech Bros Turned on Each Other

- Sohil Nigam

Friendship is a celebration of bonds that endure time, distance, and, well. .. progress bars. But in the cutthroat world of billion-dollar startups, boardroom drama, and coded insults, friendships tend to evaporate faster than a startup's seed funding. From co-founders turned competitors to polite corporate feuds thinly veiled in press releases, Silicon Valley has produced some of the most iconic frenemy rivalries in modern history. So while you're busy tying friendship bands this August, here's a look at some tech titans who'd probably tie knots... only to untangle them in court.

STEVE JOBS VS BILL GATES

The OG Operating System War

The rivalry between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates is as foundational to tech history as the command prompt. It started civil; Apple needed software, Microsoft provided it. Then came the launch of Windows, which looked suspiciously like Apple's graphical interface. Jobs accused Gates of theft. Gates, in legendary dry wit, replied: "I think it's more like we both had this rich neighbour named Xerox, and I broke into his house to steal the TV and found out you already had." What followed were decades of shade-throwing, marketing jabs, and competing visions. Jobs valued design and vertical integration. Gates believed in software-first scalability. Ironically, they needed each other more than they admitted. They made up later in life, even appearing via satellite on each other's stages, but the rivalry never quite died.

ELON MUSK VS JEFF BEZOS

The Billionaire Space Brawl