A History of Google -How Everything Started [Detailed]

September 6, 2022
A History of Google -How Everything Started [Detailed]

There is a strong argument that Google is more prominent than any other technology business in dictating the modern internet and life. This innovative search engine was just the beginning for the corporation that oversees eight products, each with more than one billion users. A History Of Google How everything started:

Google celebrated its 23rd birthday on September 4th, 2021, marking the beginning of one of the most astoundingly significant runs for any organization in the annals of business history.

As Alphabet, the investment firm of which Google is now a subsidiary, progressively climbs to join Apple and Amazon in the $1 trillion market pricing territory, we reveal all the instants in Google’s history that led to its current position at the top of industries as vast and varied as mapping, autonomous vehicles, and smartphone operating structures.

This is an exhaustive account of Google’s first two decades in business. On the other hand, it is an estimate of the company’s most significant product releases, legal quagmires, and essential acquisitions that have transformed it into a Silicon Valley juggernaut that will likely continue to exist for many decades into the future.

AUGUST 1996: Larry Page and Sergey Brin Launching Google

BackRub was the name given to Google when it was first started as a research project by Larry Page, a student at Stanford University’s computer science graduate school, in 1995. There, he became acquainted with fellow computer science student Sergey Brin.

As Page investigated the pattern of linking activity on the World Wide Web, the two remained in contact. Page came up with the idea of a program that would “crawl” the internet to identify which websites contained links to other websites. He hypothesized that this could pave the way for the development of a novel type of search engine.

They came up with the PageRank algorithm, which ranks search results according to linking patterns, with the help of Brin’s mathematical abilities. The system is named after Larry Page. Established in August of 1996 on Stanford’s private network, the world’s most advanced search engine at the time was based on combining the two technologies.

A History of Google\\ SEPTEMBER 4TH, 1998: Google Incorporates Angel Financing Of $100,000.

After realizing that their search engine would only get more precise and beneficial as the web kept growing, Page and Brin decided to title their company after the algebraic term googol. This decision was inspired by the enormous number of links between pages.

The duo then moved their operations to Menlo Park, California, to the garage of Susan Wojcicki, who would go on to become the CEO of YouTube. They decided to name the business Google and received an initial investment of $100,000 from Andy Bechtolsheim, who had previously founded Sun Microsystems.

AUGUST 2001: Schmidt was Made Head of “Adult Supervision.”

Eric Schmidt was brought on board to manage Google by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 2001. The company had only been around for a few years, but it was expanding quickly, and it required direction, or, as Brin described it in an interview with Charlie Rose that same year, “adult supervision.” Before joining Google, Schmidt served as Sun’s Chief Technology Officer and then as Novell’s Chief Executive Officer. He had an extensive background in engineering.

In March of 2001, he became the chairman of the corporation’s board of directors, and eight months later, he was promoted to the position of chief executive officer. Schmidt served in this capacity for ten years. During that time, the internet search giant underwent significant milestones like its initial public offering in 2004, the purchase of YouTube, and the launch of services such as Google Docs and Gmail.

In 2011, he was promoted to the position of executive chairman, and Page took over as CEO of the company. In a playful tweet, Schmidt said, “Day-to-day adult supervision no longer needed!”

SUMMER 2002: Yahoo Attempting (And Fails) To Purchase Google for $3 Billion

The early years of the 2000s would turn out to be significant and formative times for Google. Yahoo was the most popular internet search engine for many years before Google became popular enough. As a result of Google’s growing popularity, Yahoo began using it as its primary search engine in the year 2000. In the summer of 2002, Yahoo offered to purchase Google for $3 billion; however, Google declined the offer because it believed the company should be valued at at least $5 billion.

The following year, Google would go on to introduce Google News. This content aggregation assistance would fundamentally alter how digital media was authored and disseminated on the internet. The current market capitalization of Google and Alphabet, which is Google’s parent company, is $840 billion. On the other hand, Yahoo was sold to Verizon in 2017 for a price slightly less than $5 billion.

A History of Google\\ JULY 2003: Google enters the Googleplex.

After expanding its headquarters in Palo Alto and other surrounding Silicon Valley sites, Google rented a complex of properties at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California. At the time, this area was known as the Amphitheatre Technology Center and was managed by Silicon Graphics.

The relocation was carried out to provide space for Google’s employees, which numbered more than 1,000 people at the time. Since then, it has been given the name “the Googleplex.” As a result of the company’s numerous expansions and new building investments, it is now the world’s biggest campus.

APRIL 1ST, 2004: Gmail Unveils to the World with 1Gb Of Storage

An employee at Google named Paul Buchheit began developing an email product in 2001 to satisfy the company’s growing demands in terms of internal communications and storage space. After working on an early web-based email in the 1990s, Buchheit decided to establish a quicker and more responsive client by utilizing Ajax (an emerging collection of web development approaches that allowed the product to accept information from a server without reloading the entire page).

Gmail was made available to the general public for the first time on April 1st, 2004, and it featured 1 gigabyte (GB) of storage space and advanced search capabilities. This significantly improved the storage capacities offered by popular email clients that competed with Gmail at the time, many of which provided only a few megabytes. Due to the announcement’s timing, many in the media believed it was an April Fool joke. It wasn’t the case.

AUGUST 19TH, 2004: Google Gets Public

After receiving an initial investment of one hundred thousand dollars from Bechtolsheim, Google accepted a succession of further angel investments, one of which came from Jeff Bezos, the creator, and CEO of Amazon. Angel investments came in before a more official funding round in 1999 of $25 million from typical Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital.

The company’s online marketing products made it immensely lucrative, resulting in an ultimate initial public sale five years later. Google listed its stock at $85 a share, making it $27 billion worth after generating close to $1.7 billion. Today, the corporation is well on its path to becoming a trillion-dollar firm.

A History of Google\\ FEBRUARY 8TH, 2005: Launching of Google Maps

When Google originally debuted Maps in 2005, the company’s official statement was, “Maps can be both practical and fun.” The available web representations give step-by-step directions and zoomable maps that include a scattering of companies, such as hotels, that can be searched. Things wouldn’t get effective until 2009, when Google would bring out turn-by-turn GPS navigation for Maps on handsets. However, this wasn’t very much pleasant for competitors like TomTom and Garmin because they were forced to compete with themselves.

A History Of Google\\ JANUARY 27TH, 2006: Google’s Search Engine is Launched in China.

Since September 2000, Google has provided users in China with the option to access a Chinese-language version of its webpage. However, because this service was derived in California, it was susceptible to blockades and slowdowns caused by a firewall.

In 2006, Google established a subsidiary with its headquarters in China to more effectively compete with Baidu, the local option. The results have been heavily censored, and a disclaimer has been added at the top.

OCTOBER 9TH, 2006: Google Obtains YouTube

Google was able to purchase YouTube for a healthy 1.65 billion dollars after outbidding competitors such as Microsoft, Viacom, and Yahoo. The agreement was advantageous for both parties: Google prevailed in the battle for internet video traffic, and YouTube, which had been around for less than a year at the time of the transaction, was given access to Google’s extensive resources.

Google and YouTube continued to operate out of their respective headquarters, which were situated in separate cities: Google’s was in Mountain View, and YouTube’s was in San Bruno. The takeover has been demonstrated to be one of the most important for Google as YouTube has developed into a fundamental aspect of contemporary culture and online life. YouTube is credited with the birth of entire industries and the launch of the careers of a great number of content creators.

A History of Google\\ APRIL 14TH, 2007: Google Obtains DoubleClick and Solidifies Its Ad Business

With the introduction of Google AdWords in 2000, Google established itself as the industry leader in online advertising. That was the company’s patented and computerized digital auction system, which enabled marketers to instantly bid on top sponsored places on the website’s search results page every time a user entered a selection of terms into the search box.

In 2007, after introducing its AdSense item that allowed web admins to place comprehensive and targeted ads, Google consolidated its supremacy in the advertising industry by obtaining DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. This was Google’s most pricey acquisition until it acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion four years later. Google solidified its dominance in the advertising industry by acquiring DoubleClick in 2007. Google further expanded its omnipresent advertising empire throughout the internet by acquiring DoubleClick, a company that specialized in display advertisements and operated its exchange.

A History Of Google \\ SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2008: Google Introduces the Chrome Browser

Chrome for Windows was initially developed by Google’s in-house team, which included former Mozilla Firefox programmers. Chrome was subsequently ported to other operating systems. It was still in development, but it already had sandboxed tabs, making browsing quicker and more reliable. In conjunction with the unveiling, Google published a comic book detailing how Chrome operated.

Within just four short years, Google’s browser had amassed a larger user base than that of either Firefox or Internet Explorer. After ten years, Chrome has become the most popular web browser in the world, with a usage share of approximately 60 percent across the globe. Chrome is also the primary factor contributing to Google Search being more important now than ever before. Chrome takes a great share in the success of the company and a large part in A History of Google.

SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2008: Android Unveils the T-Mobile G1 / HTC Dream

After covertly purchasing Android for $50 million in 2005, Google made its first public appearance by unveiling the T-Mobile G1 / HTC Dream, the first Android phone. Google’s goal was for Android to emerge as the world’s most widely used mobile operating system.

They would set the basic framework for the future with functionalities still the cornerstones of the OS today, such as open software, deep integration with Google services, and best-in-class alert features. They were launched on October 22nd for a price of $179 (with a two-year agreement), and they would continue to set the foundation for the future.

A History Of Google – JANUARY 5TH, 2010: Nexus One Launches

A significant number of unusual experiments characterized the early stages of Android. Firms such as Motorola’s Droid line, Samsung’s early Galaxy phones, and HTC’s Evo devices all (in principle) run the same Android software; yet, Google’s concept was often hidden by unattractive and complicated skins and mediocre hardware. This was especially the case with HTC’s Evo devices. The Nexus One is now available.

It was constructed by HTC, but Google was responsible for the design, intending to make it the best possible example of what an Android smartphone could be. And despite the fact that the Nexus design has been discontinued, the Nexus spirit lives on in Google’s Pixel phones, allowing the company to make a stronger presence in the mobile hardware sector than before.

 

MARCH 22ND, 2010: Google is Driven out of China after Ending Censorship

Google discovered at the beginning of 2010 that its infrastructure in China was the target of a sophisticated phishing attempt in China that was designed to harvest the email addresses and other personal information of Chinese human rights activists.

As a result of the attack, Google shifted its strategy for conducting business in China, although being aware that doing so would be an extremely risky endeavor. Google.cn has been referred to as Google.com.hk, a search engine in Hong Kong that does not censor its results. Not long after that, Beijing enacted a ban on Google in China.

AUGUST 13TH, 2010: ORACLE V. Google Complaint Brought

Oracle initiated a legal battle over Android that has lasted for more than eight years and is not yet resolved. Many people are concerned that if Google loses, the repercussions may be catastrophic for all other software developers. The argument centers on Java application programming interfaces (APIs) and whether or not Google infringed on Oracle’s intellectual property by recreating them within Android.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and other privacy advocates are concerned that the pace of hardware and software development will slow if developers cannot modify application programming interfaces (APIs) freely. Oracle has twice been successful in having the verdict overturned in their favor, while Google has twice been victorious. Oracle has maintained its position as the victor for the past eight years, despite Google’s efforts to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

A History Of Google \\ OCTOBER 2010: Google Begins to Work on Self-Driving Automobiles

Google released a very different kind of product in 2010, and it was a fleet of seven Toyota Priuses. The company’s initial attempt to design automobiles that can operate without human input resulted in the hybrid vehicles being fitted with sensors and loaded with artificial intelligence. This was part of the company’s effort to create cars that could drive themselves. Over the subsequent years, that initiative would mutate and develop into what would eventually become an independent company known as Waymo.

JUNE 15TH, 2011: Chrome OS First Release

After successfully introducing a browser, Google turned its attention to creating an entire operating system. Chrome OS was originally an open-source operating system developed primarily for hosting web applications and running on netbooks, which are now more often known as Chromebooks. After providing demonstrations of the new operating system, Google initially disclosed its source code.

By June of that same year (2011), Acer and Samsung had begun shipping the first Chromebooks to be sold through retail outlets. Since then, Chromebooks have emerged as a dominant force in the classroom, and Microsoft has even begun manufacturing laptops that use Windows S Mode, following in the footsteps of Google.

JUNE 28TH, 2011: Google+ Introduction

Google launched Google+, their attempt at a social network, amid the height of Facebook’s success. Google+ is a replacement for the microblogging tool Google Buzz, which Google had previously developed. On the other hand, Google+ started as an invitation-only social network where users could share pictures and links and initiate Hangout chats with “circles” of friends. Facebook’s initial policy required users to have collegiate email addresses to join, but this requirement was only loosely enforced.

One of the numerous problems with Google Plus was that it maintained its invite-only policy for too long. Despite years of redesigns, the network was never successful in gaining widespread adoption. As of the year 2017, the firm was still making adjustments to the design and functionality of Google+; nevertheless, as of the present day, the majority of user profiles are just blank pages that come with your usual Google account for the company’s other services.

A History Of Google- AUGUST 15TH, 2011: Google Discloses its Purchasing MOTOROLA MOBILITY

Google, no longer satisfied to leave its “hardware” aspirations to collaborate with Android phone manufacturers under the Nexus program, took a risk in 2011 when it purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.  According to a statement made by Google at the time, the acquisition would “supercharge the Android ecosystem” and “would boost competitiveness in mobile computing.” In point of fact, neither of those goals was reached as a result of it.

In 2013, Motorola, which Google then owned, released the Moto X smartphone. The Moto X was manufactured in the United States and offered an unprecedented number of customization and personalization possibilities in addition to software that was easy to use. It was highly reviewed, but it was never popular, and the success of the lower-end Moto G wasn’t enough to save this tag team from failure.

When Google introduced the second generation of the Moto X in 2014, it had already reached an agreement with Lenovo to sell Motorola to the Chinese company for a sum that was billions of dollars less than what Google had initially paid for the company. And to this day, we are all lamenting the loss of Moto Maker.

JUNE 2012: The Presentation of Google Glass with a Skydiving Demonstration

In addition to their work on mobile devices and web services, Google’s Google X and ATAP divisions have begun developing experimental pieces of computer hardware. The most well-known product is Google Glass, a wearable computer that records films and images in addition to projecting information into the user’s field of vision.

At the I/O developer conference Google held in 2012, Sergey Brin displayed a live recording that he had taken while skydiving to highlight the capabilities of Project Glass. The device was made available to developers and a select set of customers on a waiting list, but not before it was denounced as posing a possible threat to users’ privacy. Numerous establishments began excluding customers who wore Google Glass from accessing their locations.

In 2017, Google Glass was relaunched as an enterprise product to concentrate its focus; nonetheless, the device made way for alternative wearable computers such as Snap’s Spectacles and other augmented reality spectacles. Although ATAP would develop further noteworthy projects such as the Jacquard smart jacket and the Ara modular phone, which has since been discontinued, X would eventually spin out as its own business and work on moonshot ideas.

JULY 1ST, 2013: Google Reader Closes Down

RSS enthusiasts from every corner of the globe expressed their utter dismay when Google announced that it would discontinue Reader in 2013. The company showed remarkable bravery, the same kind Apple would later demonstrate when it removed the much-loved headphone jack. People now get their “news” from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, which led to the election of Donald Trump as president and the Brexit vote. I appreciate it, Google.

JULY 24TH, 2013: Google Chromecast Released

The Chromecast began as a little, low-cost, and basic method for streaming video from a mobile device or computer to a television. After another five years… There has been no change in any of it, and Google has hardly made any updates to the product. However, do you know what? It is still one of the most user-friendly and affordable ways to broadcast content.

JANUARY 24TH, 2014: Google Purchases AI Research Lab Deepmind

It has been reported that Google only prevailed over Facebook in the competition to acquire the artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepMind, based in London, by offering to establish an independent ethics board to monitor the company’s technology. But regardless of how much it cost, it was money well spent.

The accomplishments of DeepMind, such as its Go-beating AlphaGo system, have been lauded as significant global scientific triumphs and have become emblematic of the present boom in artificial intelligence (AI). (There is no question that they also offered Google a valuable benefit in recruitment and marketing.)

DeepMind may have slipped in its preliminary forays into the UK’s medical system, but it has now recovered its step and begun to feed its expert knowledge directly into Google frameworks, enhancing its speech synthesis technology and revamping its data centers to run more effectively.

Since then, DeepMind has also begun to work on improving its speech synthesis technology and improving the efficiency of its data centers. Many people consider Google the most innovative company in the field of AI. Without DeepMind, it just wouldn’t be possible.

A History Of Google \\ AUGUST 10TH, 2015: Google Reorganizing Itself as Alphabet Inc.

Larry Page, one of the founders of Google, came up with the idea to spin off the massive conglomerate that Google evolved into due to its moonshots and turn it into a new firm called Alphabet.

At this point, the restructuring of Google into different firms with their CEOs and placing Sundar Pichai in control of Google has worked incredibly well for the company. This realignment also included the life-extending project known as Calico. Additionally, the company’s investment arms were a part of this reorganization.

Since the switch, new companies such as Verily, Waymo, and Wing have initiated under Alphabet with devoted institutions that are entirely focused on their progress. This is something that most likely would not have been feasible under the solitary, very congested umbrella Google had become before the shift. On September 1st, 2015, exactly one month after the reorganization was announced, Google revealed its brand new logo to the public.

MAY 18TH, 2016: Launching of Google Assistant

Google might be the last company to release a digital assistant, two years after Amazon’s Alexa and approximately five years after Apple’s Siri. Still, it has virtually caught up to both of its competitors. In less than five years on the market, Google Assistant has expanded to compete directly with Amazon’s Alexa for consumer-facing AI domination, powered Google’s Home speaker, and become available on various speakers, TVs, and smart displays.

OCTOBER 2016: Google Strengthens Hardware Release with Pixel, Google Home

After years of experimenting with consumer hardware with its Nexus platform and other one-off gadgets, Google launched the Pixel and Pixel XL phones and the Google Home smart speaker. The Pixel was Google’s first true Android smartphone, and Google built it from start to finish. Even though it was still built by a Google partner (in this example, HTC), it signaled a significant shift for Google toward a unified product ecosystem in the vein of Apple.

Since then, Google’s House speaker has been added to the Chromecast as part of the company’s home media and artificial intelligence system. On the other hand, the Pixel line of smartphones has arguably established itself as the gold standard for premium Android devices.

DECEMBER 13TH, 2016: Google Drives Out Waymo as an Alphabet Organization

Six years after it began testing its first driverless cars, Google ultimately decided to separate the project into its own independent company. The new venture, which was given the name Waymo, was headed up by John Krafcik, who had previously served as CEO of Hyundai. Importantly, it also formed a partnership with Fiat Chrysler and started employing Chrysler Pacifica minivans as its preferred mode of transportation, abandoning (at least for the time being) Google’s initial ambition to construct a fully autonomous vehicle from the ground up.

Waymo is on the proverbial fast track regarding the development of autonomous vehicles, thanks to Google’s years of testing and large money. The company is already conducting pilot programs in Arizona, providing rides to paying customers, and it hopes to introduce its service to the general public in 2018. Waymo is still one of the most successful enterprises the original Google X lab started.

A History Of Google \\ JULY 18TH, 2018: Google Subjected to Fines by EU for Monopolistic Behavior in Android

Due to the fact that Google’s reach and impact in the modern world are absolutely unsurpassed in modern industry, it is not surprising that the corporation has been subjected to several legal issues over the years connected to privacy issues and unfair competition business practices. But none were quite as strong as the $5 billion fine the European Union levied against Google this past summer for alleged antitrust violations involving Android.

The EU’s regulatory agency, the European Commission, ruled that Google favored its shopping service in advertisements displayed on the Chrome browser, which is preinstalled on most Android smartphones. The penalties are part of a larger recognition among lawmakers and the general public that Google and its sibling Silicon Valley titans Facebook and Amazon may have reached monopoly territory long ago.

 

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