IT bellwether Google has announced the creation of a holding company, called `Alphabet', as the internet search giant restructures its varied businesses, including its core search business. Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page announced the creation of the new parent company for Google and all of its various offsprings. Speaking for his fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Page called the creation of Alphabet ''a very exciting new chapter in the life of Google.'' Page and Brin will be the CEO and president of Alphabet, respectively. Google's chairman, Eric Schmidt, will continue in that role at Alphabet as well. The new holding company will have Google as its largest subsidiary, which will be headed by Sundar Pichai, the India-born products head of the search company. As Google's product head since October last year, Pichai has overseen its day-to-day operations. ''The new umbrella company will include Google spinoffs like its health effort, Life Sciences, and longevity research arm, Calico. The mad scientist paradise known as X lab will also become its own company, as will Nest and Fiber,'' Google stated in a blog post. Ventures, Capital, Sidewalk, and the drone-delivery service wing will also become separate companies under Alphabet's umbrella. ''Under the new operating structure, its main Google business will include search, ads, maps, apps, YouTube and Android and the related technical infrastructure (the 'Google business'),'' according to an SEC filing. Page said the creation of Alphabet may hamper Google's growth for now as it slims by spinning off some of its businesses. But it will emerge stronger going forward. Google stock will become Alphabet stock, and everyone will be confused about what this means for a little while, he said. But, he said, ''Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one.'' As part of that, we also said that you could expect us to make ''smaller bets in areas that might seem very speculative or even strange when compared to our current businesses.'' From the start, we've always strived to do more, and to do important and meaningful things with the resources we have. ''We did a lot of things that seemed crazy at the time. Many of those crazy things now have over a billion users, like Google Maps, YouTube, Chrome, and Android. And we haven't stopped there. We are still trying to do things other people think are crazy but we are super excited about. ''We've long believed that over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes. But in the technology industry, where revolutionary ideas drive the next big growth areas, you need to be a bit uncomfortable to stay relevant. ''Our company is operating well today, but we think we can make it cleaner and more accountable. So we are creating a new company, called Alphabet. I am really excited to be running Alphabet as CEO with help from my capable partner, Sergey, as President,'' wrote Lary Page in a blog post. Speaking of the points of confusion, what's up with that name? Page explains, ''We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity's most important innovations, and is the core of how we index with Google search! We also like that it means alpha-bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark), which we strive for! Okay! So Alphabet implies control over all communication and the future of business growth. Got it. Good.'' Source: Article, Image: flickr.com
