Yesterday, Google announced that they would be restructuring the upper-crust of their brand into a holding company that will simply be known as Alphabet.
At the surprise of many (including owners of pre-existing companies already called “Alphabet”), Google’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, announced that the decision was made so that Google could continue its legacy as the most-used search engine in the world while its now-sister companies continue to evolve the world outside of the web.
For instance, while Google will keep Google Android, Google Maps, Google Now, Google Earth, Google Docs, Gmail, (the list of Google-founded applications is almost an A-Z list in itself), other ventures will be free to form their own identities under their own CEOs. Companies like Nest and Calico Labs, effectively the new “N” and “C” of the Alphabet structure, will have more autonomy and more capital for each venture to explore new innovations.
What does this mean for Google?
Another shift in ownership, that’s for sure. With Page and Brin operating as the new Alphabet brass (Page is the CEO and Brin is the President), Designated CEO Sundar Pichai will step up and take the mantle as the new Google CEO.
This doesn’t mean the end of innovations coming from Google. We’ll still see the same algorithm changes and ranking factors that have become more important over the years (mobile friendliness, robust content, and a great user experience), and odds are, we’ll see even more digital and online innovations from the company that has changed the landscape of the online world.
In fact, the announcement may point to an up-and-coming domain that first debuted in 2014. Alphabet has chosen abc.xyz as their domain, and while it’s certainly a cute nod to their new name (it may also be because abc.com and alphabet.com were taken), it may also be a sign that the .xyz domain will be on the rise due to its use by what will surely become the biggest tech company on Earth.
What does this mean for the world?
Alphabet (formerly known as just Google), owns hundreds of companies. Some are their own innovations (Google Green, Google Glass, and Google Fiber are excellent examples) and some have simply been obtained by Google due to their potential to change the world.
Below we’ve devised a small list of former Google projects that may find a place under the Alphabet restructuring.
- Calico Labs – Dedicated to anti-aging and longevity efforts
- Google Fiber – Google’s high-speed fiber-optic internet network
- Google Fi – Google’s wireless cell phone network
- Google Ventures – Using technology to improve people’s lives (Uber, Nest, DocuSign)
- Nest – Creation of a consumer-ready smart-home system.
- Sidewalk Labs – Using technology and design to improve city architecture and infrastructure
- Google X – The “longshot” division, including self-driving cars and delivery drones)
Included in these ventures are also independent acquisitions like Boston Dynamics. It is unclear how companies like these will fit into the larger Alphabet infrastructure, but they are expected to fit into the overall “Life Sciences” market funded by Calico Labs.
Google (sorry, Alphabet) plans on unveiling more details in September to give investors and future customers a clearer view into the restructuring and how their future will be branded.