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aria-label="right arrow" disabled=""><svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 24 24" height="1em" width="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z"></path><path d="M10 6 8.59 7.41 13.17 12l-4.58 4.59L10 18l6-6z"></path></svg></button></nav></div><main class="container-fluid"><div class="infinite-scroll-container"><div class="grid gx-0 gx-sm-20 mx-n20 mx-sm-20 my-sm-20 justify-content-center"><div class="TableOfContents_TableOfContents__g8WLR d-none d-md-block position-sticky p-20 border border-right-0" data-testid="TableOfContents"><div class="font-16 font-weight-bold">Table of Contents</div><hr class="mt-0"/><ul class="TableOfContents_TableOfContentsList__yU1tL p-0 mt-0 mb-0 list-unstyled" style="--category-color:var(--red)"><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc#ref1017491-1">Introduction</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc#ref278422">Early investment, rapid growth, and a 2004 IPO</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc#ref278423">Strategic acquisitions and monetizing Google’s search engine</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Other-services#ref278425">Other services</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref374986">Google becomes an Alphabet subsidiary</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref405566">Controversies</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref1017491-references">References</a></li></ul><div class="font-14 font-weight-bold mt-20">Read More</div><div class="TableOfContents_RelatedArticle__yK5m6" data-testid="RelatedContents"><a href="/money/Sheryl-Sandberg" class="link-black" data-testid="RelatedContent-1-1698757-1"><div class="card card-sm card-horizontal my-15" 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data-testid="ArticleUtilityBar-Links" type="button" aria-label="Links"><svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 24 24" class="ArticleUtilityBar_UtilityButtonIcon__6w04y mr-5" height="1em" width="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0z"></path><path d="M3.9 12c0-1.71 1.39-3.1 3.1-3.1h4V7H7c-2.76 0-5 2.24-5 5s2.24 5 5 5h4v-1.9H7c-1.71 0-3.1-1.39-3.1-3.1zM8 13h8v-2H8v2zm9-6h-4v1.9h4c1.71 0 3.1 1.39 3.1 3.1s-1.39 3.1-3.1 3.1h-4V17h4c2.76 0 5-2.24 5-5s-2.24-5-5-5z"></path></svg>Links</button><span hidden="" style="position:fixed;top:1px;left:1px;width:1px;height:0;padding:0;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;clip:rect(0, 0, 0, 0);white-space:nowrap;border-width:0;display:none"></span></div><div class="caption mt-10">Also known as: Google Inc., Google LLC</div><div class="" data-testid="BylinesWrapper"><strong class="font-12 mr-5 text-center">Written by</strong><span class="mr-5" data-testid="Byline"><span class="Byline_popoverTrigger__xVs4j font-14" id="_R6eajjtsuesq">Mark Hall</span>,</span><div class="popover AuthorPopover_AuthorPopover__0W0b4" data-testid="Popover"><a class="font-weight-semi-bold" href="/money/author/Mark-Hall/4349">Mark Hall</a><div class="AuthorPopover_shortBio__1tFaf mt-5 font-14 font-serif text-gray-700 line-clamp clamp-4">Coauthor of <em>Sunburst: The Ascent of Sun Microsystems.</em></div><div data-popper-arrow="true"></div></div><span class="mr-5" data-testid="Byline"><span class="Byline_popoverTrigger__xVs4j font-14" id="_Raeajjtsuesq">William L. Hosch</span></span><div class="popover AuthorPopover_AuthorPopover__0W0b4" data-testid="Popover"><a class="font-weight-semi-bold" href="/money/author/William-L-Hosch/6481">William L. Hosch</a><div class="AuthorPopover_shortBio__1tFaf mt-5 font-14 font-serif text-gray-700 line-clamp clamp-4">William L. Hosch was an editor at Encyclopædia Britannica.</div><div data-popper-arrow="true"></div></div></div><strong class="font-12 mr-5">Fact-checked by</strong><span class="mr-5" data-testid="Byline"><span class="Byline_popoverTrigger__xVs4j font-14" id="_R6majjtsuesq">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></span><div class="popover AuthorPopover_AuthorPopover__0W0b4" data-testid="Popover"><a class="font-weight-semi-bold" href="/money/author/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a><div class="AuthorPopover_shortBio__1tFaf mt-5 font-14 font-serif text-gray-700 line-clamp clamp-4">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div><div data-popper-arrow="true"></div></div><div class="caption mt-5 d-flex" data-testid="ContentDateAndHistory"><span>Updated: <time dateTime="Feb. 18, 2025">Feb. 18, 2025</time></span></div></div><div class="TableOfContents_TableOfContents__g8WLR d-none" data-testid="TableOfContents"><div class="font-16 font-weight-bold">Table of Contents</div><hr class="mt-0"/><ul class="TableOfContents_TableOfContentsList__yU1tL p-0 mt-0 mb-0 list-unstyled pl-5" style="--category-color:var(--red)"><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc#ref1017491-1">Introduction</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc#ref278422">Early investment, rapid growth, and a 2004 IPO</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc#ref278423">Strategic acquisitions and monetizing Google’s search engine</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Other-services#ref278425">Other services</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref374986">Google becomes an Alphabet subsidiary</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref405566">Controversies</a></li><li class="link-black font-14 my-10"><a href="/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref1017491-references">References</a></li></ul><div class="font-14 font-weight-bold mt-20">Read More</div><div class="TableOfContents_RelatedArticle__yK5m6" data-testid="RelatedContents"><a href="/money/Sheryl-Sandberg" class="link-black" data-testid="RelatedContent-1-1698757-1"><div class="card card-sm card-horizontal my-15" data-testid="Card"><div class="card-media" data-testid="CardMedia" style="aspect-ratio:50/40"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/58/242358-050-0454B4AE/Facebook-COO-Sheryl-Sandberg.jpg?c=crop&h=40&w=50" alt="Sheryl Sandberg" data-testid="IrisImage"/></div><div class="card-body" data-testid="CardBody"><div class="font-14">Sheryl Sandberg</div></div></div></a><a href="/money/Yahoo-Inc" class="link-black" data-testid="RelatedContent-1-1017502-1"><div class="card card-sm card-horizontal my-15" data-testid="Card"><div class="card-media" data-testid="CardMedia" style="aspect-ratio:50/40"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/57/139857-050-ED88E688/Headquarters-Yahoo-Inc-Sunnyvale-Calif.jpg?c=crop&h=40&w=50" alt="Yahoo! Inc." data-testid="IrisImage"/></div><div class="card-body" data-testid="CardBody"><div class="font-14">Yahoo!</div></div></div></a><a href="/money/Facebook" class="link-black" data-testid="RelatedContent-1-1366111-1"><div class="card card-sm card-horizontal my-15" data-testid="Card"><div class="card-media" data-testid="CardMedia" style="aspect-ratio:50/40"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/54/187354-050-BE0530AF/Facebook-Founder-CEO-Mark-Zuckerberg-email-messaging-system-St-Regis.jpg?c=crop&h=40&w=50" alt="Mark Zuckerberg" data-testid="IrisImage"/></div><div class="card-body" data-testid="CardBody"><div class="font-14">Facebook</div></div></div></a></div></div><button class="btn btn-outline-undefined TableOfContents_MobileTableOfContentsButton__dHpRi d-md-none mb-20 w-100" data-testid="MobileTableOfContents" type="button" aria-label="Table Of Contents" style="--category-color:var(--red)"><svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 24 24" height="1em" width="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0V0z"></path><path d="M4 10.5c-.83 0-1.5.67-1.5 1.5s.67 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5-.67 1.5-1.5-.67-1.5-1.5-1.5zm0-6c-.83 0-1.5.67-1.5 1.5S3.17 7.5 4 7.5 5.5 6.83 5.5 6 4.83 4.5 4 4.5zm0 12c-.83 0-1.5.68-1.5 1.5s.68 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5-.68 1.5-1.5-.67-1.5-1.5-1.5zM7 19h14v-2H7v2zm0-6h14v-2H7v2zm0-8v2h14V5H7z"></path></svg><span class="font-18 ml-5">Table Of Contents</span></button><span hidden="" style="position:fixed;top:1px;left:1px;width:1px;height:0;padding:0;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;clip:rect(0, 0, 0, 0);white-space:nowrap;border-width:0;display:none"></span><div class="font-serif font-18 lh-lg dropCapArticle"><div class="Article_floatedHeroComponents__8_NjL"><div class="mb-10 BorderlessCard_BorderlessCard__u5tTW d-inline-block w-100 pb-0 rounded border p-10" data-testid="BorderlessCard"><div class="w-100 position-relative d-flex"><img loading="eager" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/16/254816-050-41C9577A/Google-logo-Googleplex-headquarters-Mountain-View-California.jpg?w=385" alt="Google logo and Android robot" width="385" data-testid="IrisImage" class="border rounded w-100"/><button class="btn btn-outline-blue-dark btn-xl btn-circle CircleIconButton_CircleIconButton__HkIE0 position-absolute bottom-10 right-10 bg-white" data-testid="CircleIconButton" type="button" aria-label="Open full size image" id="_R1ijjtsuesq"><svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 24 24" height="1em" width="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0V0z"></path><path d="M15.5 14h-.79l-.28-.27A6.471 6.471 0 0 0 16 9.5 6.5 6.5 0 1 0 9.5 16c1.61 0 3.09-.59 4.23-1.57l.27.28v.79l5 4.99L20.49 19l-4.99-5zm-6 0C7.01 14 5 11.99 5 9.5S7.01 5 9.5 5 14 7.01 14 9.5 11.99 14 9.5 14z"></path><path d="M12 10h-2v2H9v-2H7V9h2V7h1v2h2v1z"></path></svg></button><div class="tooltip font-16" data-testid="Tooltip">Open full sized image<div data-popper-arrow="true"></div></div></div><div class="font-serif text-gray-700 mt-5 font-14 text-left">Welcome to the Googleplex.</div><div class="font-serif text-gray-700 mt-5 font-12 font-italic mb-10 text-left">© Ken Wolter/Dreamstime.com</div></div></div><div class="QuickFacts_quickFacts__FMF2_ border rounded p-20 mb-20 ml-sm-20 mx-auto font-14 bg-white font-sans-serif"><div class="" data-testid="QuickFacts-Facts"><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">in full:</dt><dd>Google LLC</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">formerly:</dt><dd>Google Inc. (1998–2017)</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Date:</dt><dd>1998 - present</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Ticker:</dt><dd>GOOGL</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Share price:</dt><dd>$185.23 (mkt close, Feb. 14, 2025)</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Market cap:</dt><dd>$2.27 tr.</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Annual revenue:</dt><dd>$350.02 bil.</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Earnings per share (prev. year):</dt><dd>$8.04</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Sector:</dt><dd>Communication Services</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Industry:</dt><dd>Interactive Media & Services</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">CEO:</dt><dd>Mr. Sundar Pichai</dd></dl></div><div class="QuickFacts_fact__5ukCJ position-relative line-clamp clamp-3"><dl class=""> <dt class="font-weight-bold text-capitalize mr-5">Headquarters:</dt><dd><a href="/place/Mountain-View-California">Mountain View</a></dd></dl></div></div></div><div class="mb-20 font-sans-serif"><div class="label mb-5 font-weight-bold text-hr text-hr-right font-14">Recent News</div><div class="mt-5 d-flex flex-column" data-testid="RecentNews-Item-81daabb926ab2bc4d90eb5665d96f515"><span class="font-12"><time class="mr-5" dateTime="Feb. 18, 2025, 8:11 PM UTC">Feb. 18, 2025, 8:11 PM UTC</time>(AP)</span><a href="/news/1017491/81daabb926ab2bc4d90eb5665d96f515" class="d-block font-14 gtm-ap-news-link font-weight-semi-bold">Correction: Gulf of Mexico-Google-Lawsuit story</a></div><div class="mt-5 d-flex flex-column" data-testid="RecentNews-Item-7f895ec83f3f82aa9f0481e89715541e"><span class="font-12"><time class="mr-5" dateTime="Feb. 14, 2025, 8:08 PM UTC">Feb. 14, 2025, 8:08 PM UTC</time>(AP)</span><a href="/news/1017491/7f895ec83f3f82aa9f0481e89715541e" class="d-block font-14 gtm-ap-news-link font-weight-semi-bold">TikTok returns to Apple and Google app stores in the US</a></div><button class="btn btn-xs btn-text-black btn-show-more p-0" data-testid="RecentNews-Toggle" aria-pressed="false">Show More<svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 24 24" height="1em" width="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0V0z"></path><path d="M7.41 8.59 12 13.17l4.59-4.58L18 10l-6 6-6-6 1.41-1.41z"></path></svg></button></div><section class="HTMLContent_HTMLContent__cOyPs" data-testid="HTMLContent"><span id="ref1017491-1" data-level="1" /><p>Google is an American <span id="ref1251280" /><a href="/technology/search-engine">search engine</a> company, founded in 1998 by <span id="ref1008670" /><a href="/money/Sergey-Brin">Sergey Brin</a> and <span id="ref1008671" /><a href="/money/Larry-Page">Larry Page</a>. Since 2015, Google has been a subsidiary of the <a href="/money/holding-company">holding company</a> <a href="/money/Alphabet-Inc">Alphabet, Inc</a>. More than 70% of worldwide online search requests are handled by Google, placing it at the heart of most <a href="/technology/Internet">Internet</a> users’ experience. It is one of the world’s most prominent <a href="/money/brand">brands</a>. Its headquarters are in <a href="/place/Mountain-View-California">Mountain View</a>, <a href="/place/California-state">California</a>.</p></section><section class="HTMLContent_HTMLContent__cOyPs" data-testid="HTMLContent"><p>Google began as an online search firm, but it now offers more than 50 Internet services and products, from <a href="/technology/e-mail">e-mail</a> and online document creation to <a href="/technology/software">software</a> for <a href="/technology/mobile-telephone">mobile phones</a> and <a href="/technology/tablet-computer">tablet computers</a>. In addition, its 2012 acquisition of Motorola Mobility put the company in the position to sell hardware in the form of mobile phones. Google’s broad product portfolio and size make it one of the top four influential companies in the high-tech marketplace, along with <a href="/money/Apple-Inc">Apple</a>, <a href="/money/International-Business-Machines-Corporation">IBM</a>, and <a href="/money/Microsoft-Corporation">Microsoft</a>. Despite its myriad of products, the original search tool remains the core of Google’s success. In 2023, Alphabet took in $175 billion in revenue (57% of all Google revenue) from <a href="/money/advertising">advertising</a> based on users’ search requests.</p></section><div class="card CalloutCard_CalloutCard__Uy03G my-20 font-sans-serif" data-testid="CalloutCard"><div class="card-body" data-testid="CardBody"><h2 class="font-16 font-weight-bold">Ranking and backlinks: A new kind of search engine</h2><div class="font-14"><p>Brin and Page, who met as graduate students at <a href="/topic/Stanford-University">Stanford University</a>, were intrigued with the idea of extracting meaning from the mass of data accumulating on the Internet. They began working from Page’s dormitory room at Stanford to devise a new type of search technology, which they dubbed <span id="ref1251281" />BackRub. The key was to leverage users’ own ranking abilities by tracking each website’s “backing links”—that is, the number of other pages linked to them.</p><p>Most search engines simply returned a list of websites ranked by how often a search phrase appeared on them. Brin and Page incorporated into the search function the number of links each website had. A website with thousands of links would logically be more valuable than one with just a few links, and the search engine thus would place the heavily linked site higher on a list of possibilities.</p><p>Further, a link from a heavily linked website would be a more valuable “vote” than one from a more obscure website.</p></div></div></div><section class="HTMLContent_HTMLContent__cOyPs" data-testid="HTMLContent"><span id="ref278422" data-level="1" /><h2 class="h2">Early investment, rapid growth, and a 2004 IPO</h2><p>In mid-1998 Brin and Page began receiving outside financing. (One of their first investors was <span id="ref1251282" />Andy Bechtolsheim, a cofounder of <a href="/money/Sun-Microsystems-Inc">Sun Microsystems, Inc.</a>). They ultimately raised about $1 million from investors, family, and friends and set up shop in <a href="/place/Menlo-Park-California">Menlo Park</a>, California, under the name Google, which was derived from a misspelling of Page’s original planned name, <span id="ref1251283" /><a href="/science/googol"><em>googol</em></a> (a mathematical term for the number one followed by 100 zeroes). By mid-1999, when Google received a $25 million round of <a href="/money/venture-capital">venture capital</a> funding, it was processing 500,000 queries per day. Activity began to explode in 2000, when Google became the client search engine for one of the Web’s most popular sites, <span id="ref1008672" /><a href="/money/Yahoo-Inc">Yahoo!</a>. By 2004, when Yahoo! dispensed with Google’s services, users were searching on Google 200 million times a day. That growth only continued; by the end of 2011, Google was handling some three billion searches per day. The company’s name became so ubiquitous that it entered the lexicon as a verb. To <em>google</em> became a common expression for searching the Internet.</p></section><div class="card CalloutCard_CalloutCard__Uy03G my-20 font-sans-serif" data-testid="CalloutCard"><div class="card-body" data-testid="CardBody"><h2 class="font-16 font-weight-bold"><strong>What do you think?</strong></h2><div class="font-14"><ul data-listtype="UL"><li data-itemtype="LI"><strong><a href="/procon/Internet-debate">Is the Internet “Making Us Stupid?”</a></strong></li></ul><p><strong>Explore the ProCon debate</strong></p></div></div></div><section class="HTMLContent_HTMLContent__cOyPs" data-testid="HTMLContent"><p>To accommodate this unprecedented mass of data, Google built 11 data centers around the world, each of them containing several hundred thousand servers (basically, <a href="/technology/multiprocessing">multiprocessor</a> personal computers and hard drives mounted in specially constructed racks). The heart of Google’s operation, however, is built around three proprietary pieces of computer code: <span id="ref1008675" />Google File System (GFS), <span id="ref1008676" />Bigtable, and <span id="ref1008677" />MapReduce. GFS handles the storage of data in “chunks” across several machines; Bigtable is the company’s database program; and MapReduce is used by Google to generate higher-level data (e.g., putting together an index of Web pages that contain the words “Chicago,” “theater,” and “participatory”).</p></section><div class="Assemblies_assemblyItemWrapper__siPLQ align-middle Assemblies_singleAssembly__V5KfU Assemblies_floated__P8hHn"><div class="mb-10 BorderlessCard_BorderlessCard__u5tTW d-inline-block w-100 pb-0 rounded border p-10" data-testid="BorderlessCard"><div class="w-100 position-relative d-flex" style="aspect-ratio:1600/1107"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/17/101217-050-89474964/Larry-Page-Sergey-Brin.jpg?w=385" alt="Larry Page and Sergey Brin, creators of the online search engine Google" width="385" data-testid="IrisImage" class="border rounded w-100"/><button class="btn btn-outline-blue-dark btn-xl btn-circle CircleIconButton_CircleIconButton__HkIE0 position-absolute bottom-10 right-10 bg-white" data-testid="CircleIconButton" type="button" aria-label="Open full size image" id="_R36ijjtsuesq"><svg stroke="currentColor" fill="currentColor" stroke-width="0" viewBox="0 0 24 24" height="1em" width="1em" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h24v24H0V0z"></path><path d="M15.5 14h-.79l-.28-.27A6.471 6.471 0 0 0 16 9.5 6.5 6.5 0 1 0 9.5 16c1.61 0 3.09-.59 4.23-1.57l.27.28v.79l5 4.99L20.49 19l-4.99-5zm-6 0C7.01 14 5 11.99 5 9.5S7.01 5 9.5 5 14 7.01 14 9.5 11.99 14 9.5 14z"></path><path d="M12 10h-2v2H9v-2H7V9h2V7h1v2h2v1z"></path></svg></button><div class="tooltip font-16" data-testid="Tooltip">Open full sized image<div data-popper-arrow="true"></div></div></div><div class="font-serif text-gray-700 mt-5 font-14 text-left">Google creators Larry Page (left) and Sergey Brin.</div><div class="font-serif text-gray-700 mt-5 font-12 font-italic mb-10 text-left">© Google Inc. Used with permission.</div></div></div><section class="HTMLContent_HTMLContent__cOyPs" data-testid="HTMLContent"><p>The extraordinary growth of Google led to internal management problems. Almost from the beginning, investors felt that Brin and Page needed an experienced manager at the helm, and in 2001 they agreed to hire <span id="ref1251284" /><a href="/money/Eric-Schmidt">Eric Schmidt</a> as chairman and <a href="/money/chief-executive-officer">chief executive officer</a> (CEO) of the company. Schmidt, who had previously held the same positions at the software company Novell Inc., had a doctorate in <a href="/science/computer-science">computer science</a> and melded well with the technocratic impulses of the founders. During Schmidt’s reign as CEO, Page served as president of products, and Brin was president of technology. The trio ran the company as a “triumvirate” until Page took on the CEO role in 2011, Schmidt became executive chairman, and Brin adopted the title of director of special projects.</p><p>The company’s <a href="/money/ipo-initial-public-offering">initial public offering</a> (IPO) in 2004 raised $1.66 billion for the company and made Brin and Page instant billionaires. In fact, the IPO created 7 billionaires and 900 millionaires from the early stockholders. The stock offering also made news because of the unusual way it was handled. Shares were sold in a public auction intended to put the average investor on an equal footing with financial industry professionals. Google was added to the <a href="/money/SandP-500">S&P 500 Index</a>) in 2006. By 2012, Google’s <a href="/money/understanding-market-capitalization">market capitalization</a> made it one of the largest American companies not in the <a href="/money/Dow-Jones-average">Dow Jones Industrial Average</a>.</p><span id="ref278423" data-level="1" /><h2 class="h2">Strategic acquisitions and monetizing Google’s search engine</h2><p>Google’s strong financial results reflected the rapid growth of Internet advertising in general and Google’s popularity in particular. Analysts attributed part of that success to a shift in advertising spending toward the Internet and away from traditional media, including newspapers, magazines, and television. For example, American newspaper advertising fell from a peak of $64 billion in 2000 to $20.7 billion in 2011, while global online advertising grew from approximately $6 billion in 2000 to more than $72 billion in 2011.</p><p>Since its founding, Google has spent large sums to secure what it has calculated to be significant Internet <a href="/money/marketing">marketing</a> advantages. For example, in 2003, Google spent $102 million to acquire <span id="ref1251285" />Applied Semantics, the makers of <strong>AdSense</strong>, a service that signed up owners of websites to run various types of ads on their web pages. In 2006 Google again paid $102 million for another Web advertisement business, <strong>dMarc Broadcasting</strong>, and that same year it announced that it would pay $900 million over three and a half years for the right to sell ads on <span id="ref1008674" /><a href="/topic/Myspace">MySpace.com</a>. In 2007 Google made its largest acquisition to date, buying online advertising firm <strong>DoubleClick</strong> for $3.1 billion. Two years later the company responded to the explosive growth of the mobile applications market with a $750 million deal to acquire the mobile advertising network <strong>AdMob</strong>. All of these purchases were part of Google’s effort to expand from its search engine business into advertising by combining the various firms’ <a href="/technology/database">databases</a> of information in order to tailor ads to consumers’ individual preferences.</p></section></div></div><aside class="d-none d-lg-block cm-right-rail col-da-320 z-1" data-testid="RightRail"></aside></div><div data-page-index="1" data-testid="PageSentinel"></div></div></main><footer class="Footer_Footer__h6k1G text-align-center pb-100" data-testid="Footer"><div class="pt-30 pt-md-40 mx-25 mx-md-0"><a href="/money"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/money/assets/Money-475x60-footer-2x.png?h=47&w=390" alt="Britannica Money Logo" data-testid="IrisImage"/></a></div><div class="Footer_SubLinks__z2QDt my-30 font-weight-semi-bold font-weight-semi-bold d-flex flex-row tw-justify-center tw-items-center"><a class="mx-20" href="/money/about">About Us</a><a 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Economic data includes government reports such as GDP, unemployment, inflation, and housing numbers, as well as trends in fiscal and monetary policy.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdShowChart\",\"color\":\"orange\"},\"slug\":\"Economic-Data\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Economic-Data\"},{\"id\":13114,\"parentId\":13100,\"title\":\"Fundamental Analysis\",\"description\":\"Does a specific stock deserve a place in your portfolio? Due diligence starts with fundamental analysis: Earnings and earnings ratios, financial statements, growth and growth potential, and the competitive environment.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdShowChart\",\"color\":\"orange\"},\"slug\":\"Fundamental-Analysis\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Fundamental-Analysis\"},{\"id\":13115,\"parentId\":13100,\"title\":\"Markets \u0026 Regulation\",\"description\":\"Modern financial markets are relatively easy to navigate, but amazingly complex when you dig beneath the surface. Learn how markets work, who the players are, how money and securities change hands, and how the system is regulated.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdShowChart\",\"color\":\"orange\"},\"slug\":\"Markets-Regulation\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Markets-Regulation\"},{\"id\":13116,\"parentId\":13100,\"title\":\"Portfolio Management\",\"description\":\"Your portfolio is the amalgamation of all your assets—stocks, bonds, real estate, the funds in your 401(k), and your cash. A well-managed portfolio will aim for solid long-term returns—adjusted for your risk tolerance and time horizon—and will shift along with your changing objectives.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdShowChart\",\"color\":\"orange\"},\"slug\":\"Portfolio-Management\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Portfolio-Management\"},{\"id\":13117,\"parentId\":13100,\"title\":\"Stocks \u0026 Indexes\",\"description\":\"A stock represents partial ownership of a company, and a stock index tracks a basket of stocks of different companies. Learn the ins and outs of the stock market, the 11 sectors within it, and the various indexes that measure its overall performance.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdShowChart\",\"color\":\"orange\"},\"slug\":\"Stocks-Indexes\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Stocks-Indexes\"}]},{\"category\":{\"id\":13400,\"parentId\":13000,\"title\":\"Trading\",\"description\":\"Trading is the short-term buying and selling of stocks, commodities, options, cryptocurrencies, and other securities. Trading has different objectives and strategies than long-term investing. Traders use technical analysis, buy and sell on margin, and look to capture price inefficiencies.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdOutlineToll\",\"color\":\"violet-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Trading\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Trading\"},\"subcategories\":[{\"id\":13401,\"parentId\":13400,\"title\":\"Crypto \u0026 Foreign Exchange\",\"description\":\"Active trading in foreign exchange (“forex”) has been around for decades, while cryptocurrencies are relative newcomers. Both track the relative value of currencies or cryptocurrencies: dollars, euro, yen, and pounds as well as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdOutlineToll\",\"color\":\"violet-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Crypto-Foreign-Exchange\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Crypto-Foreign-Exchange\"},{\"id\":13402,\"parentId\":13400,\"title\":\"Futures \u0026 Margin Trading\",\"description\":\"Futures contracts allow traders and investors to speculate on the direction of—and hedge underlying positions in—stock indexes, interest rates, commodities, precious metals, and more.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdOutlineToll\",\"color\":\"violet-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Futures-Margin-Trading\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Futures-Margin-Trading\"},{\"id\":13403,\"parentId\":13400,\"title\":\"Options Trading\",\"description\":\"Options are derivative contracts that give the buyer the right to buy or sell a security at a specific price. Options can be flexible and capital efficient. But understanding the math behind them, plus the lingo, strategies, and risk parameters, requires some training.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdOutlineToll\",\"color\":\"violet-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Options-Trading\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Options-Trading\"},{\"id\":13404,\"parentId\":13400,\"title\":\"Technical Analysis\",\"description\":\"Is there predictive power in price and volume data? Technical analysts watch the charts, look for patterns, and use a blend of art and science to try to optimize the timing and price levels for buy and sell orders.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdOutlineToll\",\"color\":\"violet-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Technical-Analysis\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Technical-Analysis\"},{\"id\":13405,\"parentId\":13400,\"title\":\"Trading Strategy\",\"description\":\"Active trading requires some specialized skill—and a special mindset. Learn how to manage capital and trading positions, as well as emotions and biases. \",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdOutlineToll\",\"color\":\"violet-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Trading-Strategy\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Trading-Strategy\"}]},{\"category\":{\"id\":13200,\"parentId\":13000,\"title\":\"Retirement\",\"description\":\"We all dream of a comfortable retirement. Learn all about the various retirement savings accounts and how to maximize them. Careful planning of your retirement income, budget, and lifestyle can help make sure you don't outlive your money.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdSavings\",\"color\":\"green\"},\"slug\":\"retirement\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/retirement\"},\"subcategories\":[{\"id\":13201,\"parentId\":13200,\"title\":\"Defined Contribution Plans\",\"description\":\"401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are examples of defined contribution plans. You decide how much to contribute, and those savings are invested to compound and (hopefully) capture market earnings. Learn about traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE plans, as well as 403(b), 457, and solo 401(k) plans.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdSavings\",\"color\":\"green\"},\"slug\":\"Defined-Contribution-Plans\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Defined-Contribution-Plans\"},{\"id\":13202,\"parentId\":13200,\"title\":\"Estate Planning\",\"description\":\"Estate planning isn't just for the wealthy. Pretty much anyone with assets, families, and even pets should have plans in place—just in case.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdSavings\",\"color\":\"green\"},\"slug\":\"Estate-Planning\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Estate-Planning\"},{\"id\":13203,\"parentId\":13200,\"title\":\"Pensions \u0026 Annuities\",\"description\":\"An annuity is a series of payments made at fixed, regular intervals. Defined benefit plans (such as government and company pension plans) are one type of annuity. Insurance companies also sell annuity products that are designed to offer predictable income streams in retirement. But fair warning: they're complex.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdSavings\",\"color\":\"green\"},\"slug\":\"Pensions-Annuities\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Pensions-Annuities\"},{\"id\":13204,\"parentId\":13200,\"title\":\"Retirement Living\",\"description\":\"Throughout your career, you've been looking forward to retirement. But once you're there, you have a brand new set of decisions to make: travel, budgeting, tackling the bucket list, and maybe even taking on a new job or side hustle. Retirement living: It's a new beginning.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdSavings\",\"color\":\"green\"},\"slug\":\"Retirement-Living\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Retirement-Living\"},{\"id\":13205,\"parentId\":13200,\"title\":\"Retirement Planning\",\"description\":\"Are you expecting a long and comfortable retirement? Plan ahead. Will your savings and income streams support all your dreams for your golden years? And do you have contingency plans in case things change? Learn how to plan and strategize for retirement.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdSavings\",\"color\":\"green\"},\"slug\":\"Retirement-Planning\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Retirement-Planning\"},{\"id\":13206,\"parentId\":13200,\"title\":\"Social Security \u0026 Medicare\",\"description\":\"Most of us pay into Social Security and Medicare throughout our working lives; in retirement, we receive benefits. But to get the most out of these two government programs—and tailor them to your personal situation—you need to learn how they work.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/21/235621-159-24129B3B/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-retirement.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdSavings\",\"color\":\"green\"},\"slug\":\"Social-Security-Medicare\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Social-Security-Medicare\"}]},{\"category\":{\"id\":13700,\"parentId\":13000,\"title\":\"Companies\",\"description\":\"The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) places companies into eleven sectors: Communication services, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, real estate, and utilities.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Companies\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Companies\"},\"subcategories\":[{\"id\":13709,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Communication Services\",\"description\":\"Communication services, added in 2018, includes traditional and social media, web platforms, video game makers, and telecom providers. Companies include AT\u0026T, Netflix, Facebook parent Meta, and Google parent Alphabet.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Communication-Services\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Communication-Services\"},{\"id\":13704,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Consumer Discretionary\",\"description\":\"Discretionary companies - autos, travel and entertainment companies, apparel makers, and e-commerce - tend to rise and fall with the consumer economy. Companies include Ford, Nike, Disney, McDonald’s, and Amazon.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Consumer-Discretionary\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Consumer-Discretionary\"},{\"id\":13705,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Consumer Staples\",\"description\":\"Staples are everyday products such as toothpaste, detergent, food and beverages, groceries, and beauty supplies. Companies include Costco, Walmart, Coca-Cola, and Procter \u0026 Gamble.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Consumer-Staples\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Consumer-Staples\"},{\"id\":13701,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Energy\",\"description\":\"The energy sector, which includes oil and gas producers, pipeline builders, and refineries, tends to follow commodities. Companies include ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Chevron, Occidental, and ConocoPhillips.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Energy\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Energy\"},{\"id\":13707,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Financials\",\"description\":\"The financials sector includes insurance, commercial and investment banks, brokers, and credit card and payment providers. Companies include JPMorganChase, PayPal, Allstate, Visa, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Financials\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Financials\"},{\"id\":13706,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Health Care\",\"description\":\"The health care sector includes pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology, and health insurance companies. Top names include Pfizer, UnitedHealth, Medtronic, and Johnson \u0026 Johnson.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Health-Care\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Health-Care\"},{\"id\":13703,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Industrials\",\"description\":\"The industrials sector includes construction, agricultural machinery, airplanes, defense (weapons) contractors, railroads, and delivery companies. Top names include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Caterpillar, FedEx, 3M, and CSX.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Industrials\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Industrials\"},{\"id\":13708,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Information Technology\",\"description\":\"The growth-oriented tech sector makes and services semiconductors, cell phones, computer hardware and software, and services such as cloud computing. Companies include Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Cisco.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Information-Technology\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Information-Technology\"},{\"id\":13702,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Materials\",\"description\":\"The materials sector includes agricultural services, miners, and makers of paper, steel, and chemicals. Typically growth-oriented dividend payers, companies include International Paper, Alcoa, Dow, Freeport-McMoRan, and Newmont.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Materials\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Materials\"},{\"id\":13710,\"parentId\":13700,\"title\":\"Utilities\",\"description\":\"Known for stability and a history of solid dividends, the utilities sector includes electricity providers, nuclear power companies, and waste haulers. Companies include NextEra, Waste Management, and Duke Energy.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/20/235620-159-F34405A1/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-investment.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdBarChart\",\"color\":\"red\"},\"slug\":\"Utilities\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Utilities\"}]},{\"category\":{\"id\":13600,\"parentId\":13000,\"title\":\"Biographies\",\"description\":\"Behind all the great ideas, philosophies, inventions, and industries are people who create, cultivate, and lead. Learn about the entrepreneurs, financiers, business executives, and economic thought leaders who shaped the world of money and finance.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/235622-159-A518C19F/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-home-finance.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdPerson2\",\"color\":\"blue-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Biographies\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Biographies\"},\"subcategories\":[{\"id\":13601,\"parentId\":13600,\"title\":\"Bankers \u0026 Financiers\",\"description\":\"Learn about the bankers, financiers, and other facilitators of capital market growth throughout history - those who underwrote the industrial revolution, the building of railroads and automobiles, and today’s technology platforms.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/235622-159-A518C19F/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-home-finance.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdPerson2\",\"color\":\"blue-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Bankers-Financiers\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Bankers-Financiers\"},{\"id\":13602,\"parentId\":13600,\"title\":\"Business Executives\",\"description\":\"Learn about the men \u0026 women who helped - and are helping - shape global corporations, private businesses, sports teams, \u0026 technology start-ups.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/235622-159-A518C19F/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-home-finance.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdPerson2\",\"color\":\"blue-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Businesspeople-Executives\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Businesspeople-Executives\"},{\"id\":13603,\"parentId\":13600,\"title\":\"Economists\",\"description\":\"Learn about the academics, researchers, statisticians, and policymakers who shaped the economy—plus the thought leadership, models, formulas, and philosophies they crafted and implemented.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/235622-159-A518C19F/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-home-finance.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdPerson2\",\"color\":\"blue-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Economists\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Economists\"},{\"id\":13604,\"parentId\":13600,\"title\":\"Entrepreneurs\",\"description\":\"Entrepreneurs bear the economic uncertainties and risks of starting and running new businesses to generate profit and economic value. Learn about these industrialists, number crunchers, and technology innovators.\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/235622-159-A518C19F/britannica-money-default-subject-logo-home-finance.jpg\",\"categoryIcon\":{\"name\":\"MdPerson2\",\"color\":\"blue-strong\"},\"slug\":\"Entrepreneurs\",\"url\":\"/money/browse/Entrepreneurs\"}]},{\"category\":{\"id\":13500,\"parentId\":13000,\"title\":\"Finance \u0026 the Economy\",\"description\":\"Explore the full spectrum of finance and economics, from historical frameworks to contemporary topics. 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In addition, its 2012 acquisition of Motorola Mobility put the company in the position to sell hardware in the form of mobile phones. Google’s broad product portfolio and size make it one of the top four influential companies in the high-tech marketplace, along with \u003ca href=\"/money/Apple-Inc\"\u003eApple\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"/money/International-Business-Machines-Corporation\"\u003eIBM\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"/money/Microsoft-Corporation\"\u003eMicrosoft\u003c/a\u003e. Despite its myriad of products, the original search tool remains the core of Google’s success. In 2023, Alphabet took in $175 billion in revenue (57% of all Google revenue) from \u003ca href=\"/money/advertising\"\u003eadvertising\u003c/a\u003e based on users’ search requests.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c!--[P-2]--\u003e1b:T421,\u003cp\u003eBrin and Page, who met as graduate students at \u003ca href=\"/topic/Stanford-University\"\u003eStanford University\u003c/a\u003e, were intrigued with the idea of extracting meaning from the mass of data accumulating on the Internet. They began working from Page’s dormitory room at Stanford to devise a new type of search technology, which they dubbed \u003cspan id=\"ref1251281\" /\u003eBackRub. The key was to leverage users’ own ranking abilities by tracking each website’s “backing links”—that is, the number of other pages linked to them.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost search engines simply returned a list of websites ranked by how often a search phrase appeared on them. Brin and Page incorporated into the search function the number of links each website had. A website with thousands of links would logically be more valuable than one with just a few links, and the search engine thus would place the heavily linked site higher on a list of possibilities.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFurther, a link from a heavily linked"])</script><script>self.__next_f.push([1," website would be a more valuable “vote” than one from a more obscure website.\u003c/p\u003e1c:T5ae,\u003cspan id=\"ref278422\" data-level=\"1\" /\u003e\u003ch2 class=\"h2\"\u003eEarly investment, rapid growth, and a 2004 IPO\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn mid-1998 Brin and Page began receiving outside financing. (One of their first investors was \u003cspan id=\"ref1251282\" /\u003eAndy Bechtolsheim, a cofounder of \u003ca href=\"/money/Sun-Microsystems-Inc\"\u003eSun Microsystems, Inc.\u003c/a\u003e). They ultimately raised about $1 million from investors, family, and friends and set up shop in \u003ca href=\"/place/Menlo-Park-California\"\u003eMenlo Park\u003c/a\u003e, California, under the name Google, which was derived from a misspelling of Page’s original planned name, \u003cspan id=\"ref1251283\" /\u003e\u003ca href=\"/science/googol\"\u003e\u003cem\u003egoogol\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e (a mathematical term for the number one followed by 100 zeroes). By mid-1999, when Google received a $25 million round of \u003ca href=\"/money/venture-capital\"\u003eventure capital\u003c/a\u003e funding, it was processing 500,000 queries per day. Activity began to explode in 2000, when Google became the client search engine for one of the Web’s most popular sites, \u003cspan id=\"ref1008672\" /\u003e\u003ca href=\"/money/Yahoo-Inc\"\u003eYahoo!\u003c/a\u003e. By 2004, when Yahoo! dispensed with Google’s services, users were searching on Google 200 million times a day. That growth only continued; by the end of 2011, Google was handling some three billion searches per day. The company’s name became so ubiquitous that it entered the lexicon as a verb. To \u003cem\u003egoogle\u003c/em\u003e became a common expression for searching the Internet.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c!--[P-3]--\u003e1d:Te82,"])</script><script>self.__next_f.push([1,"\u003cp\u003eThe extraordinary growth of Google led to internal management problems. Almost from the beginning, investors felt that Brin and Page needed an experienced manager at the helm, and in 2001 they agreed to hire \u003cspan id=\"ref1251284\" /\u003e\u003ca href=\"/money/Eric-Schmidt\"\u003eEric Schmidt\u003c/a\u003e as chairman and \u003ca href=\"/money/chief-executive-officer\"\u003echief executive officer\u003c/a\u003e (CEO) of the company. Schmidt, who had previously held the same positions at the software company Novell Inc., had a doctorate in \u003ca href=\"/science/computer-science\"\u003ecomputer science\u003c/a\u003e and melded well with the technocratic impulses of the founders. During Schmidt’s reign as CEO, Page served as president of products, and Brin was president of technology. The trio ran the company as a “triumvirate” until Page took on the CEO role in 2011, Schmidt became executive chairman, and Brin adopted the title of director of special projects.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c!--[P-5]--\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe company’s \u003ca href=\"/money/ipo-initial-public-offering\"\u003einitial public offering\u003c/a\u003e (IPO) in 2004 raised $1.66 billion for the company and made Brin and Page instant billionaires. In fact, the IPO created 7 billionaires and 900 millionaires from the early stockholders. The stock offering also made news because of the unusual way it was handled. Shares were sold in a public auction intended to put the average investor on an equal footing with financial industry professionals. Google was added to the \u003ca href=\"/money/SandP-500\"\u003eS\u0026amp;P 500 Index\u003c/a\u003e) in 2006. By 2012, Google’s \u003ca href=\"/money/understanding-market-capitalization\"\u003emarket capitalization\u003c/a\u003e made it one of the largest American companies not in the \u003ca href=\"/money/Dow-Jones-average\"\u003eDow Jones Industrial Average\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c!--[P-6]--\u003e\u003cspan id=\"ref278423\" data-level=\"1\" /\u003e\u003ch2 class=\"h2\"\u003eStrategic acquisitions and monetizing Google’s search engine\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGoogle’s strong financial results reflected the rapid growth of Internet advertising in general and Google’s popularity in particular. Analysts attributed part of that success to a shift in advertising spending toward the Internet and away from traditional media, including newspapers, magazines, and television. For example, American newspaper advertising fell from a peak of $64 billion in 2000 to $20.7 billion in 2011, while global online advertising grew from approximately $6 billion in 2000 to more than $72 billion in 2011.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c!--[P-7]--\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince its founding, Google has spent large sums to secure what it has calculated to be significant Internet \u003ca href=\"/money/marketing\"\u003emarketing\u003c/a\u003e advantages. For example, in 2003, Google spent $102 million to acquire \u003cspan id=\"ref1251285\" /\u003eApplied Semantics, the makers of \u003cstrong\u003eAdSense\u003c/strong\u003e, a service that signed up owners of websites to run various types of ads on their web pages. In 2006 Google again paid $102 million for another Web advertisement business, \u003cstrong\u003edMarc Broadcasting\u003c/strong\u003e, and that same year it announced that it would pay $900 million over three and a half years for the right to sell ads on \u003cspan id=\"ref1008674\" /\u003e\u003ca href=\"/topic/Myspace\"\u003eMySpace.com\u003c/a\u003e. In 2007 Google made its largest acquisition to date, buying online advertising firm \u003cstrong\u003eDoubleClick\u003c/strong\u003e for $3.1 billion. Two years later the company responded to the explosive growth of the mobile applications market with a $750 million deal to acquire the mobile advertising network \u003cstrong\u003eAdMob\u003c/strong\u003e. All of these purchases were part of Google’s effort to expand from its search engine business into advertising by combining the various firms’ \u003ca href=\"/technology/database\"\u003edatabases\u003c/a\u003e of information in order to tailor ads to consumers’ individual preferences.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c!--[P-8]--\u003e"])</script><script>self.__next_f.push([1,"7:[\"$\",\"$L19\",null,{\"initialArticle\":{\"contentInfo\":{\"contentId\":\"1-1017491-1\",\"browserTitle\":\"Google | History \u0026 Facts; Products \u0026 Services\",\"metaDescription\":\"Google is an American search engine company founded in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page and a subsidiary of the holding company Alphabet Inc. More than 70% of worldwide online search requests are handled by Google, placing it at the heart of most Internet users’ experience.\",\"description\":\"Google is an American search engine company, founded in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page. 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Since 2015, Google has been a subsidiary of the \u003ca href=\\\"/money/holding-company\\\"\u003eholding company\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\\\"/money/Alphabet-Inc\\\"\u003eAlphabet, Inc\u003c/a\u003e. More than 70% of worldwide online search requests are handled by Google, placing it at the heart of most \u003ca href=\\\"/technology/Internet\\\"\u003eInternet\u003c/a\u003e users’ experience. It is one of the world’s most prominent \u003ca href=\\\"/money/brand\\\"\u003ebrands\u003c/a\u003e. Its headquarters are in \u003ca href=\\\"/place/Mountain-View-California\\\"\u003eMountain View\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\\\"/place/California-state\\\"\u003eCalifornia\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c!--[P-1]--\u003e\"},{\"type\":\"HTML\",\"content\":\"$1a\"},{\"type\":\"SIDEBAR\",\"title\":\"Ranking and backlinks: A new kind of search engine\",\"content\":\"$1b\",\"sidebarType\":\"CALLOUT\",\"pdfPath\":null},{\"type\":\"HTML\",\"content\":\"$1c\"},{\"type\":\"SIDEBAR\",\"title\":\"\u003cstrong\u003eWhat do you think?\u003c/strong\u003e\",\"content\":\"\u003cul data-listtype=\\\"UL\\\"\u003e\u003cli data-itemtype=\\\"LI\\\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\\\"/procon/Internet-debate\\\"\u003eIs the Internet “Making Us Stupid?”\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExplore the ProCon debate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\",\"sidebarType\":\"CALLOUT\",\"pdfPath\":null},{\"type\":\"HTML\",\"content\":\"\u003cp\u003eTo accommodate this unprecedented mass of data, Google built 11 data centers around the world, each of them containing several hundred thousand servers (basically, \u003ca href=\\\"/technology/multiprocessing\\\"\u003emultiprocessor\u003c/a\u003e personal computers and hard drives mounted in specially constructed racks). 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Used with permission.\",\"url\":\"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/101217-050-89474964/Larry-Page-Sergey-Brin.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1107,\"altText\":\"Larry Page and Sergey Brin, creators of the online search engine Google\"}]},{\"type\":\"HTML\",\"content\":\"$1d\"}],\"tocItems\":[{\"title\":\"Introduction\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc\",\"tocId\":\"1017491-1\",\"level\":1,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Early investment, rapid growth, and a 2004 IPO\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc#ref278422\",\"tocId\":\"278422\",\"level\":1,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Strategic acquisitions and monetizing Google’s search engine\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc#ref278423\",\"tocId\":\"278423\",\"level\":1,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Other services\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Other-services\",\"tocId\":\"278425\",\"level\":1,\"subSection\":[{\"title\":\"Gmail\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Other-services#ref278427\",\"tocId\":\"278427\",\"level\":2,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Google Books\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Other-services#ref278428\",\"tocId\":\"278428\",\"level\":2,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Google Earth and Google Maps\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps\",\"tocId\":\"278430\",\"level\":2,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Google Video and YouTube\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref278429\",\"tocId\":\"278429\",\"level\":2,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Google Apps and Chrome\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref278431\",\"tocId\":\"278431\",\"level\":2,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Android OS and entry into the smartphone market\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref279329\",\"tocId\":\"279329\",\"level\":2,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Social networks and Google+\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref307016\",\"tocId\":\"307016\",\"level\":2,\"subSection\":[]}]},{\"title\":\"Google becomes an Alphabet subsidiary\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref374986\",\"tocId\":\"374986\",\"level\":1,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"Controversies\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref405566\",\"tocId\":\"405566\",\"level\":1,\"subSection\":[]},{\"title\":\"References\",\"url\":\"/money/Google-Inc/Google-Earth-and-Google-Maps#ref1017491-references\",\"tocId\":\"1017491-references\",\"level\":1,\"subSection\":[]}],\"iguideLinks\":{\"EBI\":[{\"title\":\"Google - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)\",\"url\":\"https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Google/570821\",\"noFollow\":false,\"newTab\":true,\"type\":\"EBI\",\"date\":null}],\"EXTERNAL\":[{\"title\":\"Official Site of Google\",\"url\":\"https://about.google\",\"noFollow\":true,\"newTab\":true,\"type\":\"EXTERNAL\",\"date\":{\"ms\":1394751536000,\"utcms\":1394751536000,\"formattedShortDate\":\"Mar. 13, 2014\",\"formattedLongDate\":\"March 13, 2014\",\"formattedDateTime\":\"Mar. 13, 2014, 6:58 PM ET\",\"formattedUTCDateTime\":\"Mar. 13, 2014, 10:58 PM UTC\"}},{\"title\":\"Lemelson-MIT - Sergey Brin and Larry Page\",\"url\":\"https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/sergey-brin-and-larry-page\",\"noFollow\":false,\"newTab\":true,\"type\":\"EXTERNAL\",\"date\":{\"ms\":1699229249000,\"utcms\":1699229249000,\"formattedShortDate\":\"Nov. 05, 2023\",\"formattedLongDate\":\"November 05, 2023\",\"formattedDateTime\":\"Nov. 5, 2023, 7:07 PM ET\",\"formattedUTCDateTime\":\"Nov. 6, 2023, 12:07 AM UTC\"}},{\"title\":\"Liveabout.com - Company Profile and Job Information for Google\",\"url\":\"https://www.liveabout.com/google-overview-company-culture-and-history-2071320\",\"noFollow\":false,\"newTab\":true,\"type\":\"EXTERNAL\",\"date\":{\"ms\":1672647236000,\"utcms\":1672647236000,\"formattedShortDate\":\"Jan. 02, 2023\",\"formattedLongDate\":\"January 02, 2023\",\"formattedDateTime\":\"Jan. 2, 2023, 3:13 AM ET\",\"formattedUTCDateTime\":\"Jan. 2, 2023, 8:13 AM UTC\"}},{\"title\":\"CNN - Google’s incredible growth: A timeline\",\"url\":\"https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2018/12/business/google-history-timeline/index.html\",\"noFollow\":false,\"newTab\":true,\"type\":\"EXTERNAL\",\"date\":{\"ms\":1714843200000,\"utcms\":1714843200000,\"formattedShortDate\":\"May 04, 2024\",\"formattedLongDate\":\"May 04, 2024\",\"formattedDateTime\":\"May 4, 2024, 1:20 PM ET\",\"formattedUTCDateTime\":\"May 4, 2024, 5:20 PM UTC\"}}]},\"pageIds\":[\"1-1017491-2\",\"1-1017491-3\"],\"contentIds\":[\"1-2253846-1\",\"1-2234806-1\",\"1-1527199-1\",\"1-1017562-1\",\"1-2092257-1\",\"1-2248019-1\",\"1-6801-1\",\"1-2079375-1\",\"1-389170-1\",\"1-1437212-1\"],\"relatedContents\":[{\"title\":\"Sheryl Sandberg\",\"url\":\"/money/Sheryl-Sandberg\",\"description\":\"Sheryl Sandberg is an American technology executive who was the chief operating officer (COO) of the social networking company Facebook from 2008 to 2022. 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