Google developed the Android operating system after acquiring Android Inc. in 2005 and became a market-cap giant. Android expanded Google’s reach from web search into smartphones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile services.
Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who developed the search engine while studying at Stanford University. Its parent company, Alphabet, was created in 2015, with Google becoming its largest subsidiary.
Android is open-source at its core, although many devices also use Google’s proprietary mobile services. A common mix-up is treating Google and Alphabet as identical: Google is the operating company, while Alphabet is the publicly traded parent whose shares represent the broader corporate group.