Google created the holding company Alphabet in 2015.
Google announced the restructuring in August 2015, and Alphabet became the publicly traded parent company later that year. Larry Page became Alphabet’s chief executive, while Sundar Pichai became chief executive of Google, the largest company within the new structure.
The reorganization separated Google’s core internet businesses from other projects, such as life sciences, investment activities, and experimental technology. Alphabet’s structure was designed to give those businesses greater independence while allowing investors to see Google’s main operations more clearly.
Google did not disappear: its search engine, advertising platforms, Android operating system, YouTube, and cloud business remained within Google LLC. Alphabet’s market capitalization therefore represented the combined public-market value of Google and its other subsidiaries, rather than the value of the search engine alone.