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Google

Search, advertising, cloud and consumer technology company; a subsidiary of Alphabet since 2015.

SearchAdvertisingCloud computingAIConsumer software

IPO^{Source [6]}^{Source [3]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About Google

Google is the search, advertising, cloud and consumer technology company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who met at Stanford in 1995 and built a link-based search engine called BackRub before renaming it Google. Its stated mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}

Google Inc. was formed in August 1998 with a $100,000 check from Andy Bechtolsheim and moved from a Menlo Park garage to its current Mountain View headquarters. It listed on Nasdaq in August 2004 at $85 a share and since October 2, 2015 has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet.^{Source [1]}^{Source [6]}^{Source [3]}

Its products include Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Play, devices and Google Cloud. Within Alphabet, the Google Services segment earns money mainly from advertising plus subscriptions, app sales and devices, while Google Cloud earns consumption based fees and subscriptions from enterprise customers.^{Source [4]}^{Source [1]}

Sundar Pichai has been Google's CEO since October 2015 and also became Alphabet's CEO in December 2019; under him the company has shifted its strategy to focus on AI.^{Source [2]}^{Source [7]}

Watch

Google I/O '26 Keynote by Google on YouTube

What happened

Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford in 1995, built a search engine first called BackRub, and launched Google Inc. in 1998 in a Menlo Park garage. It went public on Nasdaq in August 2004 at $85 a share. On October 2, 2015 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new holding company Alphabet, whose shares replaced Google's, and Sundar Pichai became Google's CEO.^{Source [1]}^{Source [6]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [8]}

Timeline

2026-03Completed the $29.5 billion acquisition of cloud security company Wiz, which joined the Google Cloud segment.^{Source [9]}^{Source [4]}
2019-12Sundar Pichai became CEO of both Google and Alphabet as Page and Brin stepped back.^{Source [7]}
2015-10Became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new holding company Alphabet.^{Source [3]}
2015-08Larry Page announced Alphabet and named Sundar Pichai CEO of Google.^{Source [8]}
2011-04Larry Page returned as CEO.^{Source [2]}
2008-09Released the Chrome browser in beta.^{Source [10]}
2006-10Agreed to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock.^{Source [11]}
2004-08Went public on Nasdaq at $85 a share.^{Source [6]}^{Source [12]}
2004-04Announced Gmail.^{Source [13]}
1998-08Google Inc. formed after a $100,000 investment from Andy Bechtolsheim.^{Source [1]}
1998Page and Brin published their Stanford paper describing the Google prototype.^{Source [5]}
1995Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University.^{Source [1]}

Products and brands

Google Search: Web search engine and Google's largest advertising business.^{Source [4]}^{Source [1]}
YouTube: Video platform acquired in 2006, earning advertising and subscription revenue.^{Source [11]}^{Source [4]}
Android: Mobile operating system.^{Source [4]}^{Source [1]}
Chrome: Web browser first released as a beta in September 2008.^{Source [10]}^{Source [4]}
Gmail: Web email service announced in April 2004.^{Source [13]}^{Source [1]}
Google Maps: Mapping and navigation service.^{Source [4]}
Google Cloud: Cloud infrastructure, platform services and Google Workspace for enterprises.^{Source [4]}
Google Play and devices: App store plus Google-branded hardware.^{Source [4]}

How it makes money: Most revenue comes from online advertising across Search, YouTube and partner sites; Alphabet generated more than 70% of total revenues from online advertising in 2025. Additional revenue comes from Google Cloud consumption fees and subscriptions, consumer subscriptions such as YouTube Premium and Google One, app sales and devices.^{Source [4]}

Leadership

Sundar Pichai	CEO^{Source [2]}	Since 2015
Anat Ashkenazi	SVP and CFO, Alphabet and Google^{Source [2]}	Since 2024
Philipp Schindler	SVP and Chief Business Officer^{Source [2]}	Since 2015
Kent Walker	President, Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer^{Source [2]}	Since 2021

Notable acquisitions

Wiz^{Source [9]}^{Source [4]}	2026	$29.5 billion
YouTube^{Source [11]}	2006	$1.65 billion in stock

People on Founded, and where they went next

2 people on record, connected to 1 other company.

Person	Here	Also built
Larry Page	Co-founder, CEO, CFO, President, Products, CEO, Board member1998 to 2015	Alphabet2015 to nowIPO
Sergey Brin	Co-founder, President and Chairman of the Board, President, Technology, President, Board member1998 to 2015	Alphabet2015 to nowIPO

Sources

Our story, Google. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Alphabet Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A), Alphabet Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2026-04-24. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Alphabet Inc. Form 8-K12B: holding company reorganization, Alphabet Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2015-10-02. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Alphabet Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, Alphabet Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2026-02-05. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine, Stanford University Computer Science Department. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Google Prices at $85, CFO.com, 2004-08-19. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
A letter from Larry and Sergey, Google, 2019-12-03. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
2015 Founders' Letter (G is for Google), Alphabet. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Alphabet Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, Alphabet Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2026-07-23. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
A fresh take on the browser, Google, 2008-09-01. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Google To Acquire YouTube for $1.65 Billion in Stock, Google, 2006-10-09. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
2004 Founders' IPO Letter, Alphabet. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Google Gets the Message, Launches Gmail, Google, 2004-04-01. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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