Alphabet Inc. became the parent company Google created in 2015 to oversee Google and its other businesses.
Google announced the restructuring on August 10, 2015. Under the new arrangement, Alphabet became the holding company, while Google became its largest subsidiary. Sundar Pichai became Google's chief executive, and Larry Page became Alphabet's chief executive.
The structure separated Google's core internet products from other ventures, including research and development projects associated with fields such as life sciences and autonomous vehicles. The reorganization also gave investors clearer reporting about different parts of the business.
Alphabet is often confused with Google because Google remains its best-known subsidiary and principal source of revenue. Alphabet's stock trades under the symbols GOOGL and GOOG, while the corporate parent is legally Alphabet Inc.