- Alphabet Inc. was created after a major restructuring at Google.
- Alphabet is now a parent company made up of two segments: Google and Other Bets.
- Alphabet is a billion-dollar company and one of the largest in the United States and the world.
Alphabet Inc. is a multinational technology conglomerate formed in 2015 following a massive Google restructuring.
The goal of Google’s restructuring, forming parent company Alphabet, was to allow the various businesses within the company to “operate independently and move forward more quickly.”
Google co-founder Larry Page was Alphabet’s first CEO, but Google CEO Sundar Pichai took over Alphabet in 2019. Pichai is one of the highest-paid executives in the world; he earned $226 million in 2022.
Alphabet has stepped up its efforts to innovate in artificial intelligence and integrate AI into its products – a key priority for its investors. Pichai has long touted Alphabet as an “AI-driven company.”
In 2023, Alphabet laid off around 12,000 employees and Pichai said more layoffs at Google would take place in 2024.
What is the difference between Google and Alphabet?
Google is still Google, but its parent company is now Alphabet Inc. and has two main units: Google and Other Bets. Page described Alphabet as “essentially a collection of companies.”
The goal of creating Alphabet was to enable the company to invest in entrepreneurship, new products and technology, and to focus on a forward-looking approach.
Google remains the largest company in the Alphabet conglomerate and includes Google Chrome, Google Pixel, Google Home, YouTube, Search, Android, AdSense, Google Maps and Google Play.
Other Bets encompasses entities such as research and development unit Google X, Google Fiber, health research company Verily, venture capital arm GV and equity investment fund CapitalG.
Each company within Other Bets has its own CEO.
How big is Alphabet?
Alphabet is one of the largest technology companies in the world and the third largest company in the United States, after Microsoft and Apple.
Like most large tech companies, Alphabet hired heavily throughout the pandemic and into 2022, then cut costs and made layoffs in 2023. At the end of 2023, Alphabet had approximately 182,500 total employees.
Alphabet Net Worth and Ownership
Alphabet’s annual revenue for 2023 was $307.39 billion and its market capitalization was $1.87 trillion at the end of March 2024.
Alphabet’s largest shareholders include Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Vanguard Group and BlackRock Inc.
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