A blue and white logo for a social media management tool called Socialionals.

Google

Share This
« Back to Glossary Index

Primarily acknowledged for its search engine, Google is a universally esteemed technology corporation. The company, established in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, has expanded significantly, branching out into numerous tech-related fields. Google offers a wide array of services and products, encompassing Android, YouTube, Cloud, Maps, and Gmail[2]. It also manufactures hardware like Chromebooks and Pixel smartphones. Since 2015, Google has been a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.[1] and is celebrated for its inventive spirit and workplace environment that promotes employees’ personal projects. Despite confronting several ethical and legal challenges, Google continues to influence the tech sector with its groundbreaking innovations and technological progress, including the creation of Android OS and the purchase of companies specializing in AI.

Terms definitions
1. Alphabet Inc. ( Alphabet Inc. ) Established on October 2, 2015, Alphabet Inc. is a multinational conglomerate birthed from a strategic restructuring of Google. Known as one of the Big Five American IT firms, Alphabet stands as the parent company to Google and multiple former Google offshoots. The formation of Alphabet was intended to streamline Google's primary business functions, enhancing efficiency and transparency. Alphabet's headquarters are situated at Google's original Hamburg street location, which influenced the 'Alphabet' name. Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, stepped into his role amidst this restructuring, and in 2022, Alphabet executed a stock split. The company's revenue streams and investments are broad-ranging, deriving considerable income from advertising and investments in both startups and well-established companies.
2. Gmail ( Gmail ) Developed by Google, Gmail is a robust email service that offers advanced features, ample storage, and stringent security. Initially launched with 1GB storage in 2004, it expanded to a combined 15GB with Google Drive in 2012, with further expansion up to 2TB available via Google One. Gmail accommodates sending attachments of up to 25MB and receiving up to 50MB, with larger files supported through Google Drive integration. The service is designed with a minimalist, search-oriented focus, featuring conversation threading, labels, and filters. Over the years, Gmail's interface has seen several updates, introducing features like Confidential mode, two-factor authentication, and intelligent features such as Smart Compose and Smart Reply. It employs robust encryption and machine learning-based anti-phishing technologies, complemented by two-step verification for increased account security. Gmail is compatible with contemporary web browsers and offers native apps for iOS and Android. Its integration with various Google products and support for 72 languages makes it a highly versatile communication platform. With regular mobile updates and ongoing security monitoring, Gmail ensures a secure and user-friendly experience.
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 is 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) in 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 in 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), videotelephony (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 (Stadia), 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.


« Back to Glossary Index
Keep up with updates
en_USEnglish