Google LLC is one of the most influential and well-known companies in the world. But how old is Google, exactly? And how did it become the tech giant that it is today?
In this blog post, we will take a brief look at the history of Google, from its humble beginnings to its current status as a global powerhouse. So sit back and get ready for a little trip down memory lane with Google!
Key Points
- Who Owns Google
- Google’s Name Origins
- How Old Is Google
- How Big Is the Company Today: Employees and Net Worth
- Our Takeaway
Who Owns Google
Google is a publicly-traded company, which means that its ownership is spread out among many different people and organizations. The largest shareholder (owner of Google) is Alphabet Inc., its parent company. Other major shareholders include mutual fund companies like Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation.
The company was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, but Google’s history began even earlier (more on that later). They were two Stanford University students who had developed a new way to rank websites called PageRank. They realized that this could be used to create a search engine that would be much more effective than anything else that was available at the time.
Google officially launched in September of 1998. Since then, it has become the most popular search engine in the world. It now handles over three billion searches per day and is used in nearly every country on the planet.
Why Is It Called Google: Name Origination
The word google is actually a misspelling of the word googol, which is a mathematical term for the number one followed by one hundred zeroes. According to Google’s name history, it was chosen by co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin because they wanted their search engine to be able to handle large amounts of data. But, what year was Google founded?
When Was Google Created
Google was founded on September 27, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The company is now over 23 years old! In those more than two decades, Google has become one of the most well-known and influential companies in the world. With its ubiquitous search engine, it’s hard to imagine a time before we could just “google it” anything we wanted to know. But how did this tech giant come to be? Let’s take a look at Google’s historical rise.
Google Company History
In 1997, Larry Page first met the co-founder of Google Sergey Brin, a graduate student at Stanford University—Larry was considering Stanford as one of his graduate school options, and Sergey was assigned to show him around campus. Soon they began working on a project that used the internet to rank websites based on how many other websites linked to them. This was the beginning of what would eventually become Google’s PageRank algorithm. By 1998, they had a working prototype of their search engine and decided to incorporate it as a company, thus Google Inc. was officially born—as previously noted, Google’s official release date is September 27th, 1998.
In 1999, Google moved from its humble garage in Menlo Park, California, all the way to 165 University Avenue, Palo Alto. The following year, they released their now-famous Google Toolbar, which allowed internet users to access the Google search engine from any web page. In 2000, Google launched AdWords, which is how most people are familiar with the company today: as an advertising platform. Businesses can place ads on Google.com and millions of other websites that are part of the Google Display Network.
In 2003, Google made its first acquisition: Pyra Labs, the creators of Blogger. The following year, they acquired Keyhole Inc., the company that created Google Earth. These two acquisitions were major steps in Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Is Google a Private Company
Google went public on April 19, 2004, with an initial public offering (IPO) price of $85 per share. It was one of the most successful IPOs in history, raising over $23 billion for the company. In 2007, Google completed its purchase of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. And in 2008, they launched Android, a mobile operating system that would eventually become the most popular OS in the world.
In 2015, Google restructured itself as Alphabet Inc., a holding company for all of its subsidiary companies, including Google. The following year, they made their largest acquisition to date: the $12 billion purchase of mobile phone manufacturer Motorola Mobility.
How Big Is Google in 2022
Google is currently one of the most valuable companies in the world, with many experts believing that Google will only continue to grow in the coming years. The shares’ prices range from $2,002.02-$3,042.00, as shareholders’ equity reached $251.64 billion.
The latest reports for the final quarter of 2021 showed a revenue of $75.33 billion for Google.
How Many People Work for Google
In 2021, Alphabet employed a total of 156,500 people—Google’s employee count indicates more than one hundred thousand work for this subsidiary! The figure has been growing steadily over the past few years, as the company continues to expand its reach and influence. And with so many talented people on staff, it’s no wonder that Google is constantly innovating and coming up with new products and services.
Google’s Net Worth
As of 2022, Google has a net worth of over $1.7742 trillion. This number has been constantly changing over the years, as the company makes new acquisitions and expands its business operations. But one thing is for sure: Google is one of the richest companies in the world!
How Long Has Google Been Out: The Takeaway
So how old is Google? The company was founded in 1998, making it just over two decades old. In that time, it has become one of the most successful and valuable companies, as well as earning the title of the world’s most attractive employer. And with its history of innovation and growth, there’s no telling what Google will accomplish in the next twenty years!
What do you think about Google’s historical rise as the most popular search engine? Do you have any favorite products or services (Gmail, anyone?) from the tech giant’s parent company, Alphabet?