Google changes its name … to Alphabet
The founders of global tech conglomerate Google Inc have begun the process of changing the company’s name.
Chief executive officer Larry Page wrote that Google’s search engine business and other companies would be shifted into a new umbrella company called Alphabet Inc.
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“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,” Mr Page wrote.
“This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main Internet products contained in Alphabet instead.”
Google, along with the firms other ventures like YouTube, Google Capital, Google X and Android, will be part of Alphabet’s stable of brands.
Mr Page will be the CEO of Alphabet, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin will be the president and Eric Schmidt will take on the role of executive chairman.
The move means Google will have a new CEO, Sundar Pichai, who is currently senior vice president of products.
Mr Brin, Mr Schmidt and Mr Page will now focus more on expanding their business through new opportunities, rather than the day-to-day operations of Google.
“This new structure will allow us to keep tremendous focus on the extraordinary opportunities we have inside of Google,” Mr Page wrote.
“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.”
Google shares spiked by 6 per cent after the restructuring was made public, according to TechCrunch.
The news shook the tech industry, with a lot of conjecture and critiquing of the new name taking centre stage:
.@google A B C D E F G what if seinfeld still TV
— Seinfeld Current Day (@Seinfeld2000) August 10, 2015
Today’s Alphabet news is brought to you by the letters W, T and F. #Google #SesameStreet pic.twitter.com/VmXh9hEkoe
— Jeff Barrett (@BarrettAll) August 10, 2015
Alphabet (googles new parent company ) will be headquartered in Sesame Street. …the kids show. — the mask (parody) (@trillballins) August 10, 2015
I think the Alphabet name is Awesome. http://t.co/2bqtPEjoQH — Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt) August 10, 2015
And here is the regular guy from Cleveland, Ohio, who has the Twitter handle “@alphabet”:
Well, that was an interesting way to end a Monday…
— Chris Andrikanich (@alphabet) August 10, 2015