Alphabet has been in the news recently after it saw record revenue but a drop in profits in 2022, but what actually is Alphabet?
Read on to discover everything you need to know about Alphabet, including what it is, when it was founded, which companies fall under its name and how it differs to Google…
What is Alphabet?
Alphabet is an American multinational holding company that’s been around since 2015.
The company was formed by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, with the aim being to separate the brand’s other companies and ventures from the Google name and make Google “cleaner and more accountable”.
In Page’s own words:
“Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main internet products contained in Alphabet instead. What do we mean by far afield? Good examples are our health efforts: Life Sciences (that works on the glucose-sensing contact lens), and Calico (focused on longevity). Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that aren’t very related”.
As you’re probably more than aware, Google is still around and some brands, like YouTube and Fitbit, continue to fall under the Google name. However, most companies owned by the tech giant now consider Alphabet their home instead.
Page and Brin also continue to play an active role in the Google and Alphabet businesses, though their official positions have changed over the years as they stepped down to make room for a new CEO.
Which companies are owned by Alphabet?
Alphabet has created and acquired hundreds of companies over the years, though, as we’ve covered, some continue to operate within Google.
Some of the key players currently sitting under Alphabet/Google include:
These brands range cover a wide range of areas, including software, smart home products, health and fitness research and artificial intelligence, to name a few.
Is Alphabet the same as Google?
Alphabet is not the same as Google, but was created during a restructuring of Google.
These days, Google is the largest tech company run under Alphabet, though the brand’s scope was slimmed down during the restructuring. This gave Google – and other Alphabet brands – increased freedom to focus on their individual core missions.
That said, some companies continue to operate under Google and today the two companies share one CEO: Sundar Pichai.
To add to the confusion, Alphabet trades under the name Alphabet Inc., but GOOG and GOOGL remain the stock tickers.
Who is in charge of Alphabet?
When Alphabet was founded, Page and Brin handed Google’s reigns over to Pichai, as they transitioned their focus to Alphabet as CEO and President. However, much has changed in 7 years.
Pichai is now CEO of both Google and Alphabet, with Page and Brin remaining active as co-founders, shareholders and board members of Alphabet.
“We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company”, the co-founders said when the management change was announced in 2019.
Why the name Alphabet?
There are two reasons the company chose the name Alphabet.
Alphabet means a collection of letters that represent language, which is the core of how Google index’s with search, according to Page.
The co-founder also liked the interpretation of “alpha-bet”, with alpha being an investment return above benchmark, and Alphabet a company that aims to make more money than it spends.
Alphabet has been in the news recently after it saw record revenue but a drop in profits in 2022, but what actually is Alphabet?
Read on to discover everything you need to know about Alphabet, including what it is, when it was founded, which companies fall under its name and how it differs to Google…
What is Alphabet?
Alphabet is an American multinational holding company that’s been around since 2015.
The company was formed by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, with the aim being to separate the brand’s other companies and ventures from the Google name and make Google “cleaner and more accountable”.
In Page’s own words:
“Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main internet products contained in Alphabet instead. What do we mean by far afield? Good examples are our health efforts: Life Sciences (that works on the glucose-sensing contact lens), and Calico (focused on longevity). Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that aren’t very related”.
As you’re probably more than aware, Google is still around and some brands, like YouTube and Fitbit, continue to fall under the Google name. However, most companies owned by the tech giant now consider Alphabet their home instead.
Page and Brin also continue to play an active role in the Google and Alphabet businesses, though their official positions have changed over the years as they stepped down to make room for a new CEO.
Which companies are owned by Alphabet?
Alphabet has created and acquired hundreds of companies over the years, though, as we’ve covered, some continue to operate within Google.
Some of the key players currently sitting under Alphabet/Google include:
These brands range cover a wide range of areas, including software, smart home products, health and fitness research and artificial intelligence, to name a few.
Is Alphabet the same as Google?
Alphabet is not the same as Google, but was created during a restructuring of Google.
These days, Google is the largest tech company run under Alphabet, though the brand’s scope was slimmed down during the restructuring. This gave Google – and other Alphabet brands – increased freedom to focus on their individual core missions.
That said, some companies continue to operate under Google and today the two companies share one CEO: Sundar Pichai.
To add to the confusion, Alphabet trades under the name Alphabet Inc., but GOOG and GOOGL remain the stock tickers.
Who is in charge of Alphabet?
When Alphabet was founded, Page and Brin handed Google’s reigns over to Pichai, as they transitioned their focus to Alphabet as CEO and President. However, much has changed in 7 years.
Pichai is now CEO of both Google and Alphabet, with Page and Brin remaining active as co-founders, shareholders and board members of Alphabet.
“We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company”, the co-founders said when the management change was announced in 2019.
Why the name Alphabet?
There are two reasons the company chose the name Alphabet.
Alphabet means a collection of letters that represent language, which is the core of how Google index’s with search, according to Page.
The co-founder also liked the interpretation of “alpha-bet”, with alpha being an investment return above benchmark, and Alphabet a company that aims to make more money than it spends.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
