Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin started a research project in 1996. They called it “BackRub.” This project aimed to analyze website links. Their goal was to build a better search engine. They registered the google.com domain in 1997. Google officially became a company in September 1998. The company operated from a garage in California. Their search technology was unique. It used links to measure website importance. This method was called PageRank. Google quickly gained attention. People liked its clean design and accurate results. The company secured major funding in 1999. This allowed rapid expansion. They moved headquarters to Mountain View. This location became known as the “Googleplex.” Google launched its iconic AdWords program in 2000. This created a powerful advertising business. The company went public in 2004. Its IPO was highly successful. Google started acquiring other companies. Key purchases included YouTube in 2006 and Android in 2005. These moves expanded its reach beyond search. The company developed popular products like Gmail and Google Maps. It launched the Chrome web browser in 2008. Google created the Android operating system. This became the world’s leading mobile platform. The company formed a new parent structure in 2015. This parent company is named Alphabet. Google remains its largest subsidiary. Today, Google operates globally. It offers countless internet services and products. Its name is synonymous with online search.

(From a Stanford project to a global giant: A chronology of Google)