Google

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Google is a globally recognized technology[3] company, primarily known for its search engine[1]. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the company has grown vastly, diversifying into various tech-related sectors. Google provides a broad spectrum of products and services, including Gmail[5], Maps, Cloud, YouTube[4], and Android. It also produces hardware like Pixel smartphones and Chromebooks. The company, now a part of Alphabet Inc.[2] since 2015, is renowned for its innovation and workplace culture, encouraging employees to work on personal projects. Despite facing various legal and ethical issues, Google continues to impact the tech industry with its innovations and technical advancements, such as the development of Android OS and the acquisition of AI-focused companies.

Terms definitions
1. search engine. A search engine is a vital tool that functions as part of a distributed computing system. It's a software system that responds to user queries by providing a list of hyperlinks, summaries, and images. It utilizes a complex indexing system, which is continuously updated by web crawlers that mine data from web servers. Some content, however, remains inaccessible to these crawlers. The speed and efficiency of a search engine are highly dependent on its indexing system. Users interact with search engines via a web browser or app, inputting queries and receiving suggestions as they type. The results may be filtered to specific types, and the system can be accessed on various devices. This tool is significant as it allows users to navigate the vast web, find relevant content, and efficiently retrieve information.
2. Alphabet Inc. ( Alphabet Inc. ) Alphabet Inc. is a multinational conglomerate that was established from a corporate restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015. It is recognized as one of the Big Five American information technology companies. Alphabet serves as the parent company to Google and several other former Google subsidiaries. The creation of Alphabet was a strategic move to make Google's core business operations more efficient and transparent. The company's headquarters is at Google's original Hamburg street address, which inspired the name "Alphabet. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, assumed his role during the restructuring, and Alphabet completed a stock split in 2022. The company's revenue and investments are diverse, with significant income from advertising and investments in startups and well-established companies.
Google (Wikipedia)

Google LLC (/ˈɡɡəl/ , GOO-ghəl) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" and as one of the world's most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the field of AI. Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc. is one of the five Big Tech companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.

Google LLC
FormerlyGoogle Inc. (1998-2017)
Company typeSubsidiary
NASDAQ: GOOGL, GOOG
Industry
FoundedSeptember 4, 1998; 25 years ago (1998-09-04) at Menlo Park, California, United States
Founders
HeadquartersGoogleplex,,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
Number of employees
139,995 (2021) Edit this on Wikidata
ParentAlphabet Inc.
Subsidiaries
ASN
  • 15169
Websiteabout.google Edit this at Wikidata
Footnotes / references
Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page sitting together
Then Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt (left) with co-founders Sergey Brin (center) and Larry Page (right) in 2008

Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by American computer scientists Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University at California. Together, they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of its stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet.

The company has since rapidly grown to offer a multitude of products and services beyond Google Search, many of which hold dominant market positions. These products address a wide range of use cases, including email (Gmail), navigation (Waze & Maps), cloud computing (Cloud), web navigation (Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), productivity (Workspace), operating systems (Android), cloud storage (Drive), language translation (Translate), photo storage (Photos), video telephony (Meet), smart home (Nest), smartphones (Pixel), wearable technology (Pixel Watch & Fitbit), music streaming (YouTube Music), video on demand (YouTube TV), AI (Google Assistant & Gemini), machine learning APIs (TensorFlow), AI chips (TPU), and more. Discontinued Google products include gaming (Stages), Glass, Google+, Reader, Play Music, Nexus, Hangouts, and Inbox by Gmail.

Google's other ventures outside of internet services and consumer electronics include quantum computing (Sycamore), self-driving cars (Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project), smart cities (Sidewalk Labs), and transformer models (Google DeepMind).

Google and YouTube are the two most-visited websites worldwide followed by Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter). Google is also the largest search engine, mapping and navigation application, email provider, office suite, online video platform, photo and cloud storage provider, mobile operating system, web browser, machine learning framework, and AI virtual assistant provider in the world as measured by market share. On the list of most valuable brands, Google is ranked second by Forbes and fourth by Interbrand. It has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust and abuse of its monopoly position.


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