L3VLUP
ProSign in
Letters & Theses
Banking & TechnologyFounder letter

G is for Google: the letter announcing Alphabet

Written by
Larry Page
Organisation
Google (now Alphabet)
Published
10 Aug 2015
Sector
Internet and technology

Read the original at blog.google (opens in a new tab)

About this letter

Larry Page, then Google's chief executive, posted this short letter on Google's blog on 10 August 2015, eleven years after he and Sergey Brin wrote Google's original founders' letter. It announced a new company called Alphabet, with Page as its chief executive and Brin as president. Page says the business was operating well but could be made cleaner and more accountable.

The letter explains what would sit outside the core Google, such as the Life Sciences and Calico health efforts, the X lab with its Wing drone delivery project, and the Ventures and Capital investment arms. It also covers the practical side for investors: Alphabet would replace Google Inc. as the listed company, every Google share would convert into an Alphabet share with the same rights, and both share classes would keep trading on Nasdaq. Page ends by explaining the choice of name.

Why read it

Explains why Google became a holding company: separating the core business from long-shot ventures for focus, accountability and clearer reporting.

What to notice

  1. 1

    Page restates the 2004 founders' promise that Google would stay unconventional and keep making speculative smaller bets.

Continue with L3VLUP analysis

Unlock the 3 remaining takeaways on this letter, and every analysis across the full Letters & Theses library.

Checking what you can open…

Companies discussed

  • Alphabet (GOOGL)

Topics

  • strategy
  • capital allocation
  • founder control
  • leadership
Read the original at blog.google (opens in a new tab)

L3VLUP does not host this document. It belongs to Google (now Alphabet); the notes above are L3VLUP’s reading of it.

More from Google (now Alphabet)

The same argument, elsewhere