Google: The Origin of Search
Acquired
Jun 30
Google: The Origin of Search
Google: The Origin of Search
Acquired
Jun 30
The story of Google is one of relentless innovation, strategic foresight, and a bold vision to organize the world's information. What began as a research project at Stanford by Larry Page and Sergey Brin quickly evolved into a search engine that would redefine how people access knowledge online. As the internet grew in complexity, so did Google—transforming from an academic curiosity into a global tech giant with unparalleled influence over digital infrastructure, advertising, and even artificial intelligence.
Google’s journey began with BackRub, which introduced the revolutionary PageRank algorithm. Despite early rejections from established players, Page and Brin built their own search engine, leveraging superior technology and minimalist design. Strategic hires like Jeff Dean and Urs Hölzle helped develop scalable infrastructure using commodity hardware, giving Google unmatched speed and efficiency. Its business model evolved from enterprise licensing to intent-based ads through AdWords and AdSense, creating a dominant monetization system. The company went public in 2004 with a unique Dutch auction IPO, cementing its financial independence. By focusing on quality, scale, and network effects, Google became the most valuable search platform in history, setting the stage for its continued evolution in the age of AI.
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BackRub's results were much more relevant than existing search methods.
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Andy Bechtolsheim gave $100,000 to Google before it was incorporated.
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Google was growing fast but had no revenue and needed more infrastructure to scale.
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Google built its own servers and became the world's largest computer manufacturer early on.
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Google raised $25 million at a $100 million valuation in 1999.
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Google shut down Google.com temporarily to prioritize Netscape traffic during a surge
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Google's traffic doubled to 14 million daily searchers after Yahoo deal
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AdRank combined bid amount with click-through rate to maximize revenue and improve user experience.
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Google bet the company on the AOL deal, risking bankruptcy.
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AOL bet $100 million on Google's ad platform and profited significantly
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AdSense reached over a million dollars a day in revenue by the end of 2003.
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Gmail launched with 1GB storage on April Fool's Day in 2004
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Gmail began as a 20% project and led to AdSense.
