Google LLC is a multinational technology firm based in California that focuses on artificial intelligence, internet advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, and consumer electronics. Due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the field of artificial intelligence, it has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world and one of the world's most valuable brands. Alphabet Inc., the parent firm of Google, is a Big Tech corporation, along with Amazon, Apple Inc., Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. On September 4, 1998, computer scientists Larry Page and Sergey Brin launched Google when they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University in California.
They collectively possess around 14% of their publicly traded shares and control 56% of their stockholder voting power via super-voting stock. 2004 the company went public through an initial public offering (IPO). Google was reorganised in 2015 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Alphabet's principal subsidiary, Google, serves as a holding company for Alphabet's online businesses and interests. On October 24, 2015, Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google, succeeding Larry Page, who became CEO of Alphabet. Pichai was appointed CEO of Alphabet on December 3, 2019.