Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds met in person for the first time at a recent dinner organized by Mark Russinovich, the creator of Sysinternals.

The event also saw the attendance of Microsoft Technical Fellow and chief architect of Windows NT, Dave Cutler, who had his first conversation with Torvalds. Russinovich humorously remarked that "no critical kernel decisions were made" during the meeting.

While Windows and Linux have historically been seen as rivals, in recent years, Microsoft has been actively integrating Linux support into its ecosystem, notably through the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

The meeting between Gates and Torvalds symbolizes a pivotal moment in the relationship between the two operating system worlds.