Alphabet, founded as Google in 1998, became one of the world’s most valuable firms through search and advertising.
Google was created in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who developed a search engine while they were graduate students at Stanford University. The company’s advertising systems eventually became its main financial engine, especially through Google Search and the broader Google Ads business.
In 2015, Google reorganized under a new parent company called Alphabet Inc. The restructuring separated Google’s core products from several other projects and subsidiaries, while Sundar Pichai became Google’s chief executive. Alphabet’s publicly traded shares represent the parent company rather than only the search engine.
Alphabet’s valuation has also reflected businesses such as YouTube, Google Cloud, Android, and its large cash reserves. A common mix-up is calling the current public company Google; Google remains the principal operating subsidiary, while Alphabet is the listed parent.