How Old is Google? Check Google’s History Here

Google is among the most powerful technological firms in the world, driving search engines and maps as well as many other online services on a daily basis. 

Google is 27 years old, and it was officially founded on September 4, 1998. Read along to know more about its impressive journey, with major milestones achieved and the lasting influence.

What is the Founding Story of Google? 

Google started as a research project called BackRub in 1996 at Stanford University and was invented by Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin. 

The two designed the PageRank algorithm to measure web connections to enhance search relevancy to curb the limitations in the existing search engines such as AltaVista. 

They incorporated Google Inc. on September 4, 1998 in a garage rented in Menlo Park to Susan Wojcicki at a monthly fee of 1,700 dollars. They received a first round investment of Andy Bechtolsheim. 

Evolution and Impact of Google 

In 2015, Google was reorganized under Alphabet Inc. to decouple core search and projects such as Waymo self-driving cars. In 2015, Sundar Pichai was named CEO and in 2019, Alphabet CEO leading AI developments such as TensorFlow and Bard. 

As per Statista records, today Google controls 92 percent of the world search market, controls privacy debates, and leads expansion on cloud computing despite antitrust investigations.

According to Google, the name Google is a play on the word googol, using mathematical notation to represent 10 100, representing the hopes to structure huge amounts of data.

Google has a huge product and service portfolio of products and services in the areas of search, productivity, communication, hardware, and cloud. 

These sub-products with most of them falling under Alphabet Inc., serve consumers, businesses, and developers globally. 

List of Google Products 

Source: Google

Major Products List

• Google Search: Core search engine finds billions of web pages in a second and delivers the most relevant search results.

• Gmail: Free email service, 15GB storage, smart filters, and links with other Google applications.

• Google drive: 15GB free cloud storage of files, which has real time collaboration through Docs, Sheets and Slides.

• Google Maps: Directions, Street view and satellite images of directions and location.

• YouTube: Uploading, streaming, and monetization video-sharing company, 2.5B+ monthly users.

• Google Chrome: Quick, safe web browser with applications and cross-gadget sync.

• Android: Open-source mobile operating system that runs smartphones (such as Pixels) in 70% of the world.

• Google Photos: AI powered photo/video storage and editing with infinity high quality storage (older plans).

• Google Meet: An online conference meeting tool, which is built in Workspace.

• Google Workspace: Suite (Docs, Sheets, Meet, Calendar) to be productive and collaborate in a team.

• Gemini: Multimodal model and AI chatbot competing with ChatGPT, embedded in Search and apps.

• Google Pixel: The Hardware product line of Smartphones, tablets, and watches with exclusive AI.

• Google Cloud Platform: Big Data analytics and AI Data analytics and AI: Compute Engine Enterprise services.

• Google Earth: 3D planet to explore, view history and stories on voyages.

• Google Translate: Translating text, voice and image in 100+ languages in real-time.

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The original site was the first site that Google launched in 1998 under Stanford servers and it took off like a rocket in terms of speed and precision. As of 1999 it had moved to offices in Palo Alto and collected $25 million in financing by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins which enabled it to grow its server base. 

With the introduction of the AdWords in the year 2000, targeted ads were introduced which brought revenue without overloading results in search. In 2004, the IPO of Google gave it a valuation of 23 billion and Page and Brin became billionaires.

What is the Current Status of Google?

Google is exactly 27 years old, 4 months, and 11 days old between the 4th of September 1998 and the 15th of January 2026. 

Being the main product of Alphabet, it boasts revenues of 307 billion dollars (2024), spends heavily on AI and Gemini and has to maneuver through regulations across the globe. Its development highlights flexibility in a competitive technology trend.

What was the Original Name of Google?

The original name of Google was BackRub in 1996 when Stanford students developed a research project aimed at examining web page "back links" with the intention of ranking web pages. 

This prototype was issued on campus servers and became more popular due to its accuracy compared to other competitors such as Yahoo. It changed its name to Google in 1997-1998 to reflect its new wider mission of organizing the vast (googol-scale) information, and incorporation followed shortly afterward.

When did Google go public?

Unconventional Dutch auction IPO Google became a publicly traded company on August 19, 2004. The IPO which had an unconventional Dutch auction format, collected $1.67 billion, and valued Google at 23 billion dollars. 

What was Google’s Parent Company?

On October 2, 2015, Google reshaped itself into a holding company by creating Alphabet Inc. in order to separate the core internet businesses of Google and experimental ones, such as self-driving cars (Waymo). 

Page was made the CEO of Alphabet and Google continues to be the primary subsidiary that deals with search, Android, and advertising. This moonshot design enhanced concentration and financial clarity.

The story of Google is a 27-year journey since the dorm-room code to the trillion-dollar corporation is the power of innovation. The legacy of its PageRank is still present and continues to influence the way billions of people get access to knowledge every day. Search is being reinvented by AI, and the next stage in the history of Google is more radical change.

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