It's Google's 25th birthday, and the company is pulling out all the stops.
First incorporated in 1998, Google turns a quarter of a century on Wednesday, and some of its products including search, hum to search and translate will have special Easter eggs marking the birthday.
To find them, simply search, hum or translate "happy birthday" on Google's products Wednesday, and confetti will rain down across Google's screen.
Google has also created a special Google Doodle for its birthday, the temporary alteration of Google's regular logo that the search engine does for different holidays, events or to honor notable individuals.
September 27, 2023, is big occasion in the tech world – Google's 25th birthday. The journey of this American multinational tech company had humble beginnings and the entire journey is nothing short of remarkable.
In the mid-'90s, two bright minds, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, crossed paths as doctoral students in Stanford University's computer science program. Little did they know that their collaboration would change the digital landscape of the world forever. They started a research project initially called "BackRub," which eventually turned into the search engine we now know as Google.
Larry Page explored the mathematical intricacies of the World Wide Web's link structure. He laid the foundation for a revolutionary search algorithm that made Google the search giant we know today. By 1998, their project had evolved into Google, a name inspired by 'Googol'- a mathematical term that represents a very large number.
In August 1998, Google Inc. received its official birth certificate in the form of a $100,000 check from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. From their Stanford dorm room, Page and Brin moved to their first "office" – a rented garage in Menlo Park, California. The office had both computers and a ping pong table, which turned into their home for the next few years as they worked to realize their vision of a sorted internet.
The birthday Google Doodle honors Google's logo evolution, from the first-ever logo to its current iteration, with a special 25th birthday logo at the end.
When is Google's birthday?
What was the first Google Doodle?
The first Google Doodle came not long after Google. It was simple – a stick man over the search engine's logo in 1998 when co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin took time off to attend Burning Man Festival.
Since then, there have been more than 5,000 unique Google Doodles created, from Valentine's Day to the anniversary of the ice cream sundae in 2011. Now, a team of engineers and illustrators, called doodlers, are responsible for the various Google Doodles.
Birth of Google's Android and YouTube
Google's innovation didn't stop with search and email. It ventured into mobile with the acquisition of Android in 2005 and the launch of Google Talk. The acquisition of YouTube in 2006 signaled Google's entry into the online video space.
Google's acquisition spree continued with DoubleClick in 2007, expanding its influence in online advertising. Universal search, introduced in 2007, allowed users to access a wide range of content types in one search.
In 2008, Google unveiled its first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, and introduced the world to the Chrome web browser. The following years saw the launch of Google Glass, the acquisition of mapping startup Waze, and the creation of Alphabet, Google's parent company, with Sundar Pichai taking the helm as CEO of Google.
Google's Future
Earlier this month, Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, shared his thoughts on the company's future, particularly its opportunities with AI, in a blog post. Google is entering its next quarter-century where it is contending with other powerhouses in each and every product segment. AI is one of the biggest opportunities Google is trying to tap into and it is already among the top names in this field. The next 25 years could demand even more innovation and impact from Google to retain its top spot.
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