In a major move, Google announced Monday that it will undergo restructuring so that it becomes a subsidiary of a new parent company called Alphabet, Inc. The co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be head of Alphabet. Meanwhile, longtime executive Sundar Pichai will be CEO of Google.
"The name Alphabet was inspired by the collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity's most important innovations and refers to alpha bet (alpha is an investment term that means returns above benchmark)," Larry Page explained in a CNN report.
Alphabet's conglomerate structure has been compared to that of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which owns a diverse portfolio of companies. The massive move by Google is appreciated by many shareholders.
It was of the opinion that this decision to diversify provided the much needed clarity and focus for a company that, in addition to its core search business, has expanded to include self-driving cars, drones and anti-aging research.
According to CNN, Google's ticker symbols might eventually change. For now GOOG and GOOGL will remain but eventually, as the new company Alphabet grows as a brand, it might change.
The new URL for Alphabet will be https://abc.xyz. (CNN also revealed that Microsoft now owns the URL https://abc.wtf as a major troll to Google.)
A report from CNN said, Google already has companies named under each alphabet through its various acquisitions, side projects, moonshots and spin-outs. Alphabet's structure has yet to be completed formally. But recent SEC filings reveal the proposed structure.
A - Google acquired Android, the mobile operating system, in 2005.
B - Boston Dynamics (engineering and robotics design company)
C - Calico (focus on commercializing anti-aging and life-extension research)
Google Capital (private equity and investment firm)
D - DeepMind (commercializing artificial intelligence research)
DoubleClick (develops ad serving technology and services)
F - Google Fiber (terrestrial Internet service and Fi is wireless Internet service)
G - Google (search engine)
H - Google Health (personal health information service)
I - Invite Media (bidding exchange for display advertising)
J - Jump(a platform for virtual reality filmmaking)
L - Project Loon (provide low-cost Internet around the world with floating devices that broadcast Wi-Fi)
M - Makani (clean energy technology)
N - Nest (home automation devices)
Niantec (mobile video games)
P - Alphabet's patent portfolio alone will be worth billions.
S - The self-driving car that Google has been working on for years is likely to spin out into something else, either as a car company, or as a service available to other companies, or both.
V - Google Ventures
W - Android Wear (fashionable wearable tech, most notably accessories for Android watches)
Project Wing(proposed drone delivery program)
X - Google X was once the home of all of Google's "moonshot" ideas and wild side projects.
Y - YouTube
Z - Zagat was a travel guide company
(source: CNN)
Comparing this portfolio to Warren Buffet's, it would not be surprise if Alphabet decides to go after more acquisitions to expand its business structure.
