Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both PhD candidates at Stanford University, initiated the creation of Google as part of a research project in 1996, but officially founded the company on September 4, 1998. Their mission was to develop a search engine that could index the vast amount of information available on the internet and return the most relevant results to users. The innovation behind Google was the PageRank algorithm, which analyzed relationships between websites and quantified the value of each page based on incoming links from other sites. This algorithm proved to be significantly more effective than existing search engine technologies, which often relied on simple keyword matching.

Having secured initial funding from angel investors, Page and Brin started their company in a garage in Menlo Park, California. The simplicity and effectiveness of Google’s interface, married to its powerful search capabilities, quickly gained popularity among users and prompted rapid growth. The early years involved continuous improvements to the search algorithm and the expansion of server capacity to manage the increasing volume of searches. Their approach also emphasized the importance of user experience, which played a pivotal role in setting Google apart from competitors.

As Google began to dominate the search engine market, it expanded its services beyond search to include applications like Google Ads, Google Maps, and Gmail. This diversification solidified Google's position in the tech industry and laid the groundwork for a plethora of other services that changed how people accessed information online. The company's mantra of “Don’t be evil” resonated with users and instilled confidence in its business practices. Over time, Google transformed the internet landscape and became a central component of daily life for millions worldwide.