Google is a name most people use every day—but how old is it? As of 2025, Google is officially 27 years old. It was founded in 1998 and has grown from a tiny search engine into one of the world’s biggest tech companies. But the full story started even earlier.
Let’s go back and see when Google began, who created it, and how it became the internet giant we know today.
How Old Is Google in 2025?
Google was founded on September 4, 1998, which makes it 27 years old in 2025. However, the work that led to Google started two years earlier in 1996 as a research project at Stanford University.
Each year, Google celebrates its birthday in late September, often on the 27th, with a fun Google Doodle on its homepage.
When and How Was Google Founded?
- 1996 – Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both students at Stanford, began a project called Backrub. It was a search engine that ranked pages based on how many other pages linked to them.
- 1997 – They registered the domain google.com, a twist on “googol,” meaning 1 followed by 100 zeroes.
- 1998 – Google was officially incorporated on September 4, 1998.
- The first office? A rented garage in Menlo Park, owned by Susan Wojcicki, who later became YouTube’s CEO.
That small team, working out of a garage, launched what would become the world’s most-used website.
Who Created Google and Why?
Google was created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Their mission was simple:
“To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
What made Google special was its PageRank algorithm. Instead of ranking pages by keywords alone, it looked at how many other pages linked to it. This made search results more accurate and relevant than existing engines like Yahoo and AltaVista.
What Was Google Like in the Beginning?
When it launched, Google was just a clean, white page with a logo and a search bar. It had no ads, no news, no videos—just search.
A few things that stood out early:
- It loaded faster than competitors.
- Results were more accurate.
- It gained popularity quickly through word of mouth.
- By 2000, it had already indexed over 1 billion web pages.
In just a few years, it went from garage startup to global tool.
Major Milestones in Google’s Growth
Here are some of the biggest steps in Google’s journey:
- 2001 – Eric Schmidt became CEO, helping scale the business.
- 2004 – Google launched Gmail, offering more free storage than any competitor.
- 2006 – Google bought YouTube, which became the #1 video platform.
- 2008 – Released Android OS, now the world’s most used mobile system.
- 2015 – Google restructured under Alphabet Inc., becoming part of a larger company with multiple divisions.
Today, Google’s products include Maps, Photos, Chrome, Google Drive, and Workspace, reaching billions of users daily.
Is Google Still the Same Company Today?
Not really—it’s much bigger now. Google Search is still its core, but the company has grown into a tech ecosystem. It’s behind:
- YouTube
- Gmail
- Android
- Google Ads
- Google Cloud
- Google Assistant
And now, it’s leading in AI development through tools like Google Bard and Gemini, and research labs like DeepMind.
Since 2015, Google has operated under its parent company Alphabet Inc., which oversees projects like Waymo (self-driving cars) and Verily (health tech).
Fun Fact: How Google Celebrates Its Birthday
Every year around September 27, Google adds a birthday-themed Doodle to its homepage. These change yearly and sometimes include interactive games or animations.
Even though the company was incorporated on September 4, Google chose September 27 as the day to celebrate with users.
Final Thoughts
So, how old is Google? In simple terms—27 years in 2025. But in that short time, it’s transformed how we search, connect, and even think. From two students with an idea to a company shaping the future, Google’s story is still being written.
Got a memory of Google from the early days? Share it below—what was your first search?