Why Did Google Rebrand as Alphabet? The Untold Story from 2015 🤫

Hello everyone! Today, I'm going to share a truly fascinating past story from the IT industry. It's about the event in 2015 when the Google we all know so well was reborn under the name 'Alphabet'. I was quite intrigued when I first heard this news. I initially wondered if it was just a simple rebranding, but the stories hidden behind it were truly profound and interesting!

'Cleaner and More Accountable' – The Birth of the Name Alphabet

On October 1, 2015, Google transitioned to a new holding company structure named 'Alphabet'. The reason explicitly stated by founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page at the time was clear: to make the diverse businesses related to Google 'cleaner and more accountable'. It was a will to manage each business area distinctly, rather than bundling numerous subsidiaries under one large name.

This new holding company structure held more significance than just reorganizing the company. It was a strategy to provide investors with a clearer view of each business's performance and to make it clearer to customers which business served which role.

'Not a Conventional Company' – The Founders' Long-Held Vision

In a blog post at the time, Larry Page reiterated the commitment made during the company's founding. He wrote, "When we first wrote in our founding documents that 'Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to be,' 11 years ago..." These words convey Google's initial desire to forge a different path from others and its constant passion to avoid being confined by existing frameworks.

Furthermore, he added, "You can expect us to undertake 'small bets' in fields that might seem very speculative or even strange compared to our current business." This demonstrated Google's ambition to go beyond being just a search engine and to not hesitate in making various attempts and challenges for the future. From the beginning until now, Google has always strived to do more and achieve important and meaningful things.

Why 'Alphabet' Specifically? 🔠

So, why was 'Alphabet' chosen from so many names? According to Page, the name symbolizes 'a collection of letters'. This signifies that under the name Alphabet, various business areas gather, each with its own unique name and identity. Just as alphabets create countless words and sentences, it evokes the image of diverse subsidiaries like Google, Waymo, and Verily leading innovation in their respective fields under the holding company Alphabet.

This structure is said to help each business segment operate independently while also creating synergy within the larger framework of Alphabet. Perhaps the name 'Alphabet' itself signifies new possibilities and boundless expansion!

What Does the Alphabet Transition Mean?

Google's rebranding to Alphabet and the adoption of a holding company structure was not merely a change of name. It was a strategic decision looking towards the future. It was an intention to accelerate innovation by strengthening the independence of each business segment, enhance transparency for investors, and simultaneously secure future growth engines through 'small bets' on new technologies and ideas.

Google's transformation also had a significant impact on other IT companies. It provided a great case study on how a giant corporation can flexibly reorganize its structure and continue to pursue new challenges.

What are your thoughts on Google's transition to Alphabet? Do you recall any other interesting stories of change in the IT industry? Please feel free to share your opinions in the comments! 😊

I will be back with more interesting stories next time. Thank you!