Alphabet owns Google and is one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
Alphabet Inc. became Google’s parent company in 2015 through a corporate reorganization. Google remains Alphabet’s largest business, covering Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, and advertising. Alphabet also groups businesses such as Waymo, its autonomous-driving subsidiary, under the wider holding company.
Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who developed the company’s search engine while they were doctoral students at Stanford University. Alphabet’s structure was designed to give Google’s core internet businesses and newer ventures more distinct management and reporting.
A common mix-up is treating Google and Alphabet as interchangeable stock-market names. Google is the operating company and brand most people use, while Alphabet is the publicly traded parent whose shares determine the market capitalization normally cited for the group.