LinkedIn is the world's largest professional social network, connecting over a billion members across more than 200 countries. Founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and a team from PayPal and Socialnet, and publicly launched on May 5, 2003, LinkedIn operates a platform for professional networking, content sharing, job search, recruiting, sales intelligence and online learning. The company was acquired by Microsoft in December 2016 for $26.2 billion and operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary from its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, with roughly 18,500 employees worldwide.