Google, YouTube, Android, & Gmail: How Alphabet became one of the world's biggest software companies

From Google Search and Android, to Gmail and YouTube – Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) is responsible for some of the most used software products in the world, which means it’s also one of the richest companies on Earth.

In 2023 alone, the Google parent generated over $307 billion in revenue, and its market cap is currently pegged at more than $2 trillion. Beyond the Ticker takes a closer look at the company's biggest moments.

1996

Alphabet began as a research project by Stanford University students Larry Page and Sergey Brin called "Backrub". The duo soon changed the name to Google.

1998

The company purchased the Google.com domain and officially incorporated.

2000

Google began selling advertising through Google AdWords, helping to power the company’s revenue moving forward.

2001

Google brought on Eric Schmidt as CEO to grow the company into a tech powerhouse.

2004

The company launched Gmail, which quickly gained popularity thanks to its 1 GB of free storage.

On August 19, 2004, Google went public via initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq at $85 per share, valuing the company at $23 billion.

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