Google Marks 28th Birthday with Nostalgic Doodle and AI Expansion

Google marked its 28th birthday on September 27 with a nostalgic Doodle featuring a vintage version of the company's original 1998-era logo. The special artwork on Google's homepage looks back at the company's early days and marks the anniversary of the tech giant's journey from a search engine to a global technology company.

The Doodle also features a birthday trivia quiz on the Google Doodles page, inviting users to test their knowledge of Google's history. Google was officially incorporated on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were then PhD students at Stanford University.

However, the company marks September 27 as its official birthday, a date that has varied over the years. According to information shared by Google, the company's formal beginnings can be traced to August 1998, when Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a $100,000 cheque to Page and Brin.

Over 28 years, Google has expanded well beyond its original search engine, with products and services including Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Android and Pixel phones. The company is also continuing its work in artificial intelligence through its Gemini platform.