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What is Google?

American technology company Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were PhD students at Stanford University in California. The company, which started as an online search engine, now also offers internet services, enterprise solutions, smartphones, tablets, notebooks, smart speakers, virtual reality headsets, artificial intelligence, maps and navigation services, etc.
 
Google was originally planned to be named googol, a mathematical term for the numerical digit 1 followed by 100 zeroes (10100). The name Google was the result of a misspelling. So, the word had no meaning at the time the company was formed. Today, however, the company’s name has become a synonymous to web search and several dictionary have even included Googling as verb meaning searching on the internet — to use the Google search engine for obtain information about (someone or something) on the World Wide Web.
 
In the year of incorporation, Google received its first outside financing from Sun Microsystem co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim. By 1999, the company had been processing half a million queries every day and received around $25 million through venture capital funding. The company started to grow exponentially in 2000, when Google became the default search engine for Yahoo! Later, Yahoo! and Google parted ways in 2004, but the latter continued growing and its daily recorded searches hit 200 million.
 
In 2015, Google was reorganised and made a subsidiary of the holding company Alphabet Inc. After becoming a subsidiary, Google’s charge was handed over to its senior vice-president of products Sundar Pichar, who is now the CEO of the company. Company’s co-founders, Page and Brin became the CEO and president of Alphabet, respectively.
 
Google.com is now the most visited website in the world. The company’s several other offerings, including YouTube and Blogger, also figure among the top 100 most visited websites globally. Since 2007, Google has also been one of the top five most valuable brands in the world, according to a report released by London-based data analytics and insights firm Kantar in 2019.

Latest Updates on Google

Currently available as part of Google's Search Labs, this tool allows users to access essential information such as pricing and availability without having to dial a phone number themselves

Updated On: 31 Jan 2025 | 9:18 PM IST
Bs_logoGoogle's 'Ask for Me' uses AI to call businesses on behalf of customers

Sheinbaum argued that according to the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea, US sovereign territory only extends up to 12 nautical miles

Updated On: 31 Jan 2025 | 7:05 AM IST

Google has also expanded Play Protect's "enhanced fraud protection pilot" to more regions including India to protect against financial fraud

Updated On: 30 Jan 2025 | 3:58 PM IST

Reportedly, the anticipated Google Pixel 9a smartphone will be available for pre-order in select regions on March 19

Updated On: 30 Jan 2025 | 12:16 PM IST

The new update adds a "Bud Return" sound cue indicating the correct buds placement in the charging case

Updated On: 29 Jan 2025 | 3:40 PM IST

Google is the most popular tool to seek any sort of information, but some searches can have unexpected legal consequences. Governments now use advanced technology to monitor online behaviour

Updated On: 29 Jan 2025 | 11:45 AM IST

URLs in Google Search results on mobile devices will no longer show "breadcrumb elements"

Updated On: 27 Jan 2025 | 12:34 PM IST

The advisory highlights security flaws in the outdated version of the Google Chrome web browser for Macs, Windows, Linux, as well as ChromeOS for Chromebooks

Updated On: 27 Jan 2025 | 11:41 AM IST

A key priority, one executive told Reuters, comes in building out educational programs to train the workforce on AI

Updated On: 26 Jan 2025 | 11:41 PM IST

Google pledged to crack down on fake online reviews with tougher punishments for rogue reviewers and businesses that try to profit from them, British regulators said Friday following an investigation.

Updated On: 24 Jan 2025 | 9:11 PM IST

With Identity Check enabled, the device will ask for biometric authentication to access sensitive account and device settings when the device is outside of a trusted location

Updated On: 24 Jan 2025 | 4:16 PM IST

Google said that the latest deal would accelerate the development of the Android XR platform and strengthen the ecosystem for headsets and glasses

Updated On: 24 Jan 2025 | 12:56 PM IST

Android 16 brings improved app compatibility for foldables, new "Live Updates" notifications, camera updates and more to compatible Google Pixel devices

Updated On: 24 Jan 2025 | 11:20 AM IST

The watchdog is flexing its newly acquired regulatory muscles again after the new digital market rules took effect at the start of the year

Updated On: 23 Jan 2025 | 8:01 PM IST

Some YouTube Premium features from the Android app such as Picture-in-Picture view for Shorts are now available on the iOS app as well

Updated On: 23 Jan 2025 | 4:39 PM IST

Russian firms' $125 nonillion penalty blocked as Google challenges enforcement

Updated On: 22 Jan 2025 | 11:21 PM IST

With Google ramping up its chip production for server operations, Naidu, during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, pitched the port city as an ideal location for the company

Updated On: 23 Jan 2025 | 1:06 AM IST

Google has addressed several user-reported issues in Android 15 QPR2 beta 3, including the one that previously caused devices to restart during phone calls

Updated On: 22 Jan 2025 | 11:51 AM IST

Anthropic, a major competitor of OpenAI in the AI foundation model space, declined to comment

Updated On: 22 Jan 2025 | 11:53 AM IST

Indonesia joins India, Russia and the European Union, who have all imposed significant fines on the tech giant for alleged unfair competitive business practices

Updated On: 22 Jan 2025 | 10:30 AM IST