Google created the Android operating system and is a subsidiary of Alphabet.
Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., the holding company created in 2015 during a corporate restructuring. Google includes the search engine, YouTube, Android, Chrome, and major advertising and cloud businesses. Alphabet’s market capitalization therefore reflects Google as well as other holdings and projects.
Google did not originally create Android from scratch. Google acquired Android Inc. in 2005, and the mobile operating system was developed under Google’s ownership. Android’s first commercial device, the HTC Dream, went on sale in 2008.
The company began as a search project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. Google incorporated in 1998. A common mix-up is treating Google and Alphabet as identical names: Google is the principal operating subsidiary, while Alphabet is the publicly traded parent company.