How does Google and Alphabet break down exactly?

4 months ago

Google caught everyone on the back foot when the firm announced a massive restructuring and the creation of a new parent company for one of the world’s most iconic names.

This company is Alphabet, and as Google co-founder and new Alphabet chief executive Larry Page explained, it gives the company the chance to streamline operations and make everything a bit neater on paper.

So, what has changed?

Well, a big part of this move was a motivation to “slim down” Google as a business, said Page. As a result, Google now looks a much more focused business, with just the firm’s main internet services staying a part of Google. These are:

• Search
• Advertising
• Maps
• Apps
• YouTube
• Android

While not mentioned officially, it’s likely that Google Chrome comes under the “apps” section.

All Google’s other projects and businesses are becoming separate companies under Alphabet. These have been confirmed as:

• Calico – life-extending bio-tech research
• Nest – the smart thermostat and other smart home products business
• Fiber – Google’s high-speed internet service
• Ventures and Capital – projects in the early stage of investment
• X Lab – Google’s lab of “moonshot ideas” that has spawned such products and projects as driverless cars, Google Glass and delivery drones.

In short, Alphabet is now the home of the more left-field parts of Google; the more futuristic and “out there” plans. These will operate independently, leaving the central Google business to focus on the popular, existing, everyday services.

Google is set to break down its financial results between these two branches, with the aim of providing more clarity on how the company is performing.

And that, in a nutshell, is the new-look Google.