The years after were marked by rapid product growth, with the acquisition of Android and YouTube, and the development of Maps, Chrome and Google Cloud, a line of business services. The company used most of the additional platforms to turbocharge its advertising engine, and, in the process, became the world’s largest hub for digital ads.
Alphabet was created in 2015 to be a parent company for Google — a move that allowed Page and Brin to restructure the business. Ambitious future projects dubbed “Other Bets” including Waymo, the autonomous driving company, became organized under Alphabet. Sundar Pichai, a longtime executive, was appointed CEO of Google in 2015, and of Alphabet in 2019, after Page stepped down.
Pichai’s tenure has been marked by increasing strife between Google and its staff but also rapid revenue and profit growth. In 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic shrinking the advertising market, Google generated $147 billion in ad revenue.
--With assistance from Bailey Lipschultz and Tom Contiliano.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.