Tech giant Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebrations at its Redmond, Washington headquarters last week were marred by pro-Palestinian protests, notably led by the company’s own employees. The event, attended by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer, took an unexpected turn during a keynote session by AI chief Mustafa Suleyman, who was presenting updates and the company’s long-term AI vision.
The first interruption came from employee Ibtihal Aboussad, who shouted, “Mustafa, shame on you,” as she walked toward the stage. She continued: “You claim that you care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region. Stop using AI for genocide.”
A second, more high-profile disruption followed when Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-American software engineer at Microsoft, confronted Gates, Ballmer, and current CEO Satya Nadella while they were onstage.
“Shame on you all. You’re all hypocrites. Fifty thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating in their blood. Cut ties with Israel,” she yelled, before being escorted out.
Following the protest, Agrawal reportedly sent a mass email to colleagues, announcing her resignation and stating that her last day at Microsoft would be April 11. “You may have seen me stand up earlier today to call out Satya during his speech at the Microsoft 50th anniversary,” she wrote adding that she can no longer be a part of a company whose work has enabled genocide by Israel.
She referenced a report by The Associated Press highlighting Microsoft’s alleged role in supporting Israel’s military actions and surveillance capabilities.
Who is Vaniya Agrawal?
According to her LinkedIn profile, Agrawal earned a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering from Arizona State University (2016–2019), graduating summa cum laude. She was one of only 35 students awarded the prestigious Grace Hopper Scholarship in 2017.
Before her software engineering career, she worked in various roles — including as a tea consultant and social media manager at Adagio Teas (2015), and as a medical assistant and receptionist at True Health Medical Centre (2016–2017).
She interned at Amazon as a Software Development Engineer in 2018 and later joined the company full-time in September 2019. After leaving Amazon in October 2022, she joined Microsoft as a Software Engineer II in September 2023.
Now, after a year with Microsoft and following her protest, Agrawal has announced her decision to step away from the company on April 11, citing ethical concerns.