How two Stanford students revolutionized the internet and built one of the most influential companies in the world
The Googleplex in Mountain View, California, headquarters of one of the world’s most valuable companies
It’s hard to imagine the internet without Google. From searching for recipes to navigating unfamiliar streets, from managing our emails to watching videos, Google’s products have become so deeply integrated into our daily lives that they’ve fundamentally changed how we interact with information and with each other.
What started as a research project between two Stanford University PhD students has grown into one of the most influential and valuable companies in the world. Google’s journey from dorm room to global tech giant is a remarkable story of innovation, ambition, and the power of a simple idea executed brilliantly.
The video below offers a quick look back at Google’s evolution over its first decade, from its humble beginnings as “BackRub” to its expansion into various products including Maps, Street View, Chrome, and Wave. It’s a fascinating glimpse at the rapid growth of a company that would go on to reshape the digital landscape.
A brief history of Google’s evolution from 1998 to 2009
The Birth of BackRub
The Google story begins in 1995 at Stanford University. Larry Page was considering Stanford for graduate school, and Sergey Brin, already a student there, was assigned to show him around campus. Despite reportedly disagreeing about nearly everything during that first meeting, the two brilliant minds found common ground in their shared interest in solving complex problems with data and algorithms.
By 1996, Page and Brin had begun collaborating on a search engine project initially called “BackRub.” The name came from the algorithm’s focus on analyzing the “back links” pointing to websites—essentially counting how many other sites linked to a particular page and using that data to determine its relevance and importance.
This approach differed fundamentally from existing search engines of the time, which typically ranked results based on how many times the search terms appeared on a page. Page and Brin theorized that a page linked to by many other important pages must be important itself—a concept that formed the foundation of their PageRank algorithm.
The genius of PageRank was its understanding that the web operated like an enormous citation network, similar to academic papers. This recognition that “not all links are created equal” revolutionized how search engines worked.
From BackRub to Google
By 1997, BackRub was gaining traction at Stanford, but the name wouldn’t stick. The duo renamed their project “Google,” a play on the mathematical term “googol” (a 1 followed by 100 zeros), reflecting their ambition to organize the vast amount of information on the web.
In August 1998, the project received its first significant investment—a $100,000 check from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. This funding allowed Page and Brin to officially incorporate Google as a company on September 4, 1998, and move their operations from their dorm rooms to a friend’s garage in Menlo Park, California.
By the end of 1998, Google had indexed about 60 million pages and was already being recognized by PC Magazine as one of the top 100 websites. The company’s rapid growth continued as more users discovered the power and simplicity of Google’s search capabilities.
What set Google apart from its competitors wasn’t just its superior technology but also its clean, uncluttered interface. While other search portals were becoming increasingly crowded with ads and distractions, Google presented users with a simple white page featuring little more than a logo and a search box—a design philosophy that emphasized functionality and user experience over flashy aesthetics.
Google’s early mission statement—”to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”—was ambitious yet simple. This clarity of purpose helped guide the company’s growth for decades to come.
Expansion and Innovation
As Google entered the 2000s, it began expanding beyond its core search functionality. The company’s journey from a single-product search engine to a multi-faceted technology giant was marked by both strategic product development and shrewd acquisitions.
Key milestones in Google’s product evolution include:
- 2000: Launch of AdWords, allowing businesses to purchase keyword-targeted advertising
- 2001: Acquisition of Deja News’ Usenet archive, which became Google Groups
- 2002: Launch of Google News, aggregating news stories from thousands of sources
- 2004: Introduction of Gmail, revolutionizing email with unprecedented storage and search capabilities
- 2005: Launch of Google Maps and acquisition of Android, a mobile operating system
- 2006: Acquisition of YouTube for $1.65 billion, entering the video sharing market
- 2008: Release of Chrome web browser, which would later become the world’s most popular browser
- 2011: Launch of Google+, the company’s attempt at social networking
This period of expansion was fueled by Google’s successful business model. While the search engine remained free for users, the company generated revenue through advertising. The AdWords platform allowed advertisers to bid on keywords related to their products or services, with ads appearing alongside relevant search results.
In 2004, Google went public with an initial stock offering that raised $1.67 billion, giving the company a market capitalization of $23 billion. This influx of capital provided Google with the resources to accelerate its growth and pursue ambitious new projects.
The Alphabet Era
By 2015, Google had grown so diverse that its founders decided a major restructuring was necessary. In August of that year, Page and Brin announced the creation of Alphabet Inc., a new parent company that would house Google and its many subsidiaries.
Under this new structure, Google—focused on internet services, ads, and operating systems—became just one company under the Alphabet umbrella. Other Alphabet companies included Calico (focused on longevity research), Waymo (self-driving cars), Verily (life sciences), and X (the “moonshot factory” for experimental projects).
This reorganization allowed each division to operate with greater autonomy while providing more transparency for investors. Larry Page became CEO of Alphabet, with Sergey Brin as President, while Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google.
Despite this restructuring, most people continued to associate the company with the Google brand, which remained Alphabet’s largest and most profitable division. The Google name had become so ubiquitous that it entered the vernacular as a verb—to “google” something became synonymous with searching for information online.
The creation of Alphabet reflected how far Google had evolved from its search engine roots. It was no longer just an internet company but a conglomerate with interests ranging from healthcare to transportation to artificial intelligence.
Cultural Impact and Company Culture
Beyond its products and services, Google has had a profound impact on corporate culture, particularly in the tech industry. The company pioneered many workplace practices that have since become common across Silicon Valley:
- 20% Time: Engineers were encouraged to spend 20% of their time working on projects of personal interest, leading to innovations like Gmail and Google News
- Perks and Benefits: Free gourmet food, on-site services, and generous benefits packages designed to maximize employee satisfaction and productivity
- Open Office Spaces: Designed to facilitate collaboration and the free flow of ideas
- Data-Driven Decisions: Using metrics and testing to guide product development and business strategies
Google’s internal culture emphasizes innovation, openness, and collaboration. The company’s original motto, “Don’t be evil” (later changed to “Do the right thing” after the Alphabet restructuring), reflected its aspirational commitment to maintaining ethical standards while pursuing business objectives.
This culture has not been without criticism. As Google has grown, it has faced scrutiny over privacy concerns, market dominance, and workplace issues. The company’s massive collection of user data, while enabling personalized services and targeted advertising, has raised questions about surveillance and privacy in the digital age.
Nevertheless, Google’s influence on how we work, communicate, and access information remains undeniable. Its innovations have reduced friction in countless daily tasks and opened up new possibilities for collaboration, learning, and entertainment.
Google Today and Tomorrow
Today, Google is one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market capitalization that has exceeded $1 trillion. Its parent company, Alphabet, employs over 100,000 people globally and generates hundreds of billions in annual revenue.
The company’s reach is staggering:
- Google processes over 8.5 billion searches per day
- Android powers approximately 70% of the world’s smartphones
- YouTube has over 2 billion monthly logged-in users
- Gmail is used by more than 1.5 billion people
- Google Maps is the dominant mapping service worldwide
Looking forward, Google continues to invest heavily in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other cutting-edge technologies. The company’s AI projects, including the development of large language models and machine learning systems, may once again transform how we interact with information and technology.
However, Google also faces significant challenges. Regulatory scrutiny has intensified, with antitrust investigations in multiple countries examining the company’s market dominance. Privacy concerns continue to dog its data-collection practices, and competition from other tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Meta (formerly Facebook) threatens various aspects of its business.
As Google evolves in its third decade, the company must balance innovation with responsibility, growth with regulation, and profit with purpose—challenges that reflect its outsized role in shaping our digital future.
From Search Engine to Digital Empire
The story of Google—from a research project in a Stanford dorm room to a global technology behemoth—exemplifies the remarkable potential of the digital age. In just over two decades, Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s creation has transformed how we find information, communicate, navigate, and much more.
Google’s success stems from several key factors: a revolutionary approach to search that truly understood the web’s structure, a relentless focus on user experience, a business model that effectively monetized attention without sacrificing core functionality, and a culture that fostered innovation while scaling rapidly.
Yet perhaps Google’s greatest achievement is how thoroughly it has integrated itself into our daily lives. For many of us, it’s difficult to imagine navigating the modern world without Google’s tools—a testament to how completely the company has fulfilled its mission of organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible.
As we look to the future, Google’s continued evolution will likely shape our digital experiences in ways we can barely imagine today. From artificial intelligence to quantum computing, from augmented reality to autonomous vehicles, Google’s innovations will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
The dorm room project that became a verb has already changed the world. What it does next may be even more transformative.
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