#8 Alphabet

Company Name	Alphabet Inc.
Founded	2015 (as a parent company of Google)
Founders	Larry Page, Sergey Brin
Headquarters	Mountain View, California, USA
Industry	Technology, Internet Services, AI, Consumer Products
Revenue (2023)	$298.0 billion (approx.)
Market Capitalization	~$1.7 trillion (as of 2024)
CEO	Sundar Pichai (also CEO of Google)
Employees	~190,000 (approx.)
Key Subsidiaries	Google, YouTube, Waymo, Verily, DeepMind, Fitbit
Products/Services	Search, Advertising (Google Ads), Cloud, YouTube, Android, Google Maps, AI, Hardware (Pixel, Nest)
Stock Symbol	GOOGL, GOOG (NASDAQ)
Global Presence	Operations in over 50 countries
Notable Acquisitions	YouTube (2006), Android (2005), Motorola Mobility (2012), Fitbit (2021)

1998	Google founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University.
2004	Google launches its initial public offering (IPO).
2006	Google acquires YouTube, expanding into video content.
2008	Google launches Android, an operating system for mobile devices.
2012	Google acquires Motorola Mobility, marking its entry into hardware.
2014	Google announces Project Loon to provide internet via high-altitude balloons.
2015	Alphabet Inc. is formed as the new parent company, with Google as its largest subsidiary. The restructuring aims to better organize Google's diverse businesses.
2016	Alphabet becomes the parent company of Google’s subsidiaries, including YouTube, Waymo (self-driving cars), and Verily (healthcare).
2018	Waymo launches the first commercial self-driving car service in Phoenix, Arizona.
2020	Google rebrands as Google LLC, and Alphabet focuses on its broader portfolio of companies.
2021	Alphabet acquires Fitbit, a leading health-tracking company.
2023	Alphabet continues to expand into AI, cloud services, and hardware, with a strong focus on generative AI tools (e.g., Google Bard).