Invent is a strong word here.
Technically the browser was eschewed by Microsoft, until they noticed it was taking off. They wrote their own version and bound it to the Windows 95 Operating System because they were scared to death of Netscape. Netscape itself was a offshoot of several previous projects.
Perhaps your friend was on the team that cloned Netscape for Microsoft?
Lol. More-or-less invented. Of course, Microsoft didn’t really invent the thing.
Check out Yaron Goland. Very smart guy. But a liberal.