As of Tuesday, August 11, Google has a new owner.
According to Wired, Alphabet, the newly-introduced parent company of Google, is much more than a rebranding effort.
Alphabet, run by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, will essentially act as the mothership for all of Google’s various ventures. This includes Calico, the company’s longevity program; Google X, its lab division; and Google itself, the search engine giant that controls 65 to 70% of the global search market. Alphabet and Google are two entities with entirely different corporate structures and entirely different purposes.
By allowing an outside entity to control Google’s various tech ventures, from self-driving cars to Google Glass, Google executives can focus their attention on the products and services that make the company money. This, in turn, will give Google the ability to make more advances and work to outpace competitors.
“It allows Google, the Internet property, to be more fiscally responsible and focused on what that company does,” Brad Shimmin, an analyst with Current Analysis, told ComputerWorld.com. “Because they were pulled in so many different directions, [co-founders] Sergey [Brin] and Larry [Page] had a lot to contend with, in terms of prioritization and coordination. Leaving Google on its own should make the company more successful because executives won’t have to worry about so much else.”
The general public seems to be confused about what Alphabet actually is — or what purpose it serves, Wired reported. However, Alphabet’s logo and visual branding may help clear up some of the confusion. While Google’s whimsical, colorful logo hints at a childish sense of curiosity, Alphabet’s logo stands out in a stark red font as a sign of the corporation that has finally grown up.
By giving Google more opportunities to focus on its main money-maker, the search engine, Alphabet could allow Google to innovate even more rapidly than before.