Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is expected to step down from the company’s board to spend more time on philanthropic activities.

“I have made the decision to step down from both of the public boards on which I serve — Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway — to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change,” Mr. Gates wrote in a LinkedIn post.

One of the world’s richest men, Gates, 65, has also left the board of Warren Buffett’s massive holding company, Berkshire Hathaway.

According to The New York Times, Mr Gates was slowly stepping back from Microsoft in recent years. He left his day-to-day role at the company in 2008.

Bill gates helped to establish Microsoft’s Windows software as the primary system for the personal computer.

Mr. Gates remains one of the largest individual shareholders of Microsoft.

In his post-Microsoft career, Mr. Gates has become better known for his work in fighting infectious diseases and climate change.

Last month, the Gates Foundation said it would commit an additional $100 million to fight the Corona virus.

Mr. Gates founded Microsoft in 1975, dropping out of Harvard and joining Paul Allen, his friend and technology collaborator since their teenage years at a private high school in Seattle