Google LLC ( , GOO-gəl) is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" by the BBC, and is one of the world's most valuable brands. Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. has been described as a Big Tech company. Google was founded in 1998 by American computer scientists Larry Page and Sergey Brin. 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 in 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. In 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet. After the success of its original service, Google Search (often known simply as "Google"), the company has rapidly grown to offer a multitude of products and services. These products address a wide range of use cases, including email (Gmail), navigation and mapping (Waze, Maps, and Earth), cloud computing (Cloud), web navigation (Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), productivity (Workspace), operating systems (Android and ChromeOS), cloud storage (Drive), language translation (Translate), photo storage (Photos), videotelephony (Meet), smart home (Nest), smartphones (Pixel), wearable technology (Pixel Watch and Fitbit), music streaming (YouTube Music), video on demand (YouTube TV), AI (Google Assistant and Gemini), machine learning APIs (TensorFlow), AI chips (TPU), and more. Many of these products and services are dominant in their respective industries, as is Google Search. 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 (Willow, Google Quantum AI), self-driving cars (Waymo), and transformer models (Google DeepMind). Google Search and YouTube are the two most-visited websites worldwide, followed by Facebook, Instagram, and ChatGPT. Google is the largest provider of search engines, mapping and navigation applications, email services, office suites, online video platforms, photo and cloud storage, mobile operating systems, web browsers, machine learning frameworks, and AI virtual assistants in the world as measured by market share. Google was ranked the second most valuable brand by Forbes as of January 2022, and fourth by Interbrand as of February 2022. The company has received criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, censorship, search neutrality, antitrust, and abuse of its monopoly position.
Flagship Products
Who Founded Google?
Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American businessman and computer scientist who co-founded Google with Sergey Brin. Page is a centibillionaire and among the richest people in the world. As of 2026, Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes estimated his net worth at US$334.1 billion, positioning him as the second-wealthiest individual in the world. Page was chief executive officer of Google from 1997 until August 2001 when he was succeeded by Eric Schmidt, and then again from April 2011 until July 2015 when he became CEO of its newly formed parent organization Alphabet Inc. He held that post until December 4, 2019, when he and Brin stepped down from all executive positions and day-to-day roles within the company. He remains an Alphabet board member, employee, and one of two controlling shareholders. Page is the co-creator and namesake of PageRank, a search ranking algorithm for Google for which he received the Marconi Prize in 2004 along with co-writer Brin.
Sergey Mikhailovich Brin (Russian: Сергей Михайлович Брин; born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and businessman who co-founded Google with Larry Page. He was the president of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., until stepping down from the role in 2019. He and Page remain at Alphabet as co-founders, controlling shareholders, and board members. Brin is a centibillionaire and among the richest people in the world; as of August 2026, his estimated net worth is US$264.9 billion. Born into a Russian-Jewish family in Moscow, Soviet Union, Brin immigrated to the United States at the age of six. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland, College Park, following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps by studying mathematics as well as computer science. After graduation, in 1993, he enrolled in Stanford University to pursue a PhD in computer science. There, Brin met Page, with whom he built a web search engine. The program became popular at Stanford, and he discontinued his PhD studies to start Google in Susan Wojcicki's garage in Menlo Park, California. In 2023, Brin came out of retirement to contribute to AI research at Alphabet.
Frequently Asked Questions about Google
Who runs Google?
Leadership and ownership at Google has evolved over its history. It was originally founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who established the vision for the company.
Who is responsible for Google?
The founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were responsible for the initial creation and early success of Google.