Goodbye Google, Hello Alphabet

Google Inc has finally morphed into Alphabet Inc.

On October 2, Google completed the process of its transformation into a holding company called Alphabet. With Google having transformed into Alphabet, a new code of conduct for its employees has been posted by the holding company on its website. However, Google’s famous creed “DON'T BE EVIL!” is now absent from Alphabet’s new code of conduct.

Before

After

A report by the Wall Street Journal pointed out that the corporate code of conduct now entreats employees to “do the right thing – follow the law, act honorably, and treat each other with respect.”

According to the report, the Google code, which was written for its 2004 IPO, is much longer and includes rules relating to co-worker relationships, pets, and at-work alcohol consumption, while Alphabet’s sticks to the basics, like avoid conflicts of interest, maintain integrity and obey the law.

Also, the vast majority of Alphabet employees will still be Google employees, part of the core search-and-advertising unit that is the new holding company’s biggest division.

Also according to Reuters: "Google’s class A shares and class C shares will automatically convert into the same number of Alphabet class A shares and class C shares and start trading on the Nasdaq from Monday. The ticker symbols will not change."

Google’s Sidewalk Labs, a company dedicated to coming up with technologies to improve urban city infrastructure such as a free WiFi program, will also be a part of the Alphabet business.

The core businesses will be called Google and operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet. Sundar Pichai will head Google.

Alphabet will be run by Google co-founder Larry Page and each of its businesses will have its own chief executive.

Starting from the company’s fourth quarter in January, Alphabet will have two reporting units – Google and all other Alphabet businesses taken as a whole.

Investors have cheered the move, saying it will give them greater visibility into the financial performance of Google’s highly profitable core businesses.

Alphabet’s businesses will also include connected home products maker Nest, venture capital arm Google Ventures, and Google Capital, which invests in larger tech companies.

Image: Wikipedia

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Google unveils Sidewalk labs initiative to improve city life

Google unveiled a company devoted to making a thriving business out of solving big-city problems such as overpriced housing and traffic-snarled streets. Sidewalk Labs based in New York City was described as an “urban innovation” firm with a mission to develop technology that makes living and running big cities better.

“Sidewalk will focus on improving city life for everyone by developing and incubating urban technologies to address issues like cost of living, efficient transportation and energy usage,” chief executive Larry Page said in a post at the Internet titan’s Google+ social network.


Sidewalk will be headed by Dan Doctoroff, a former chief executive of Bloomberg LP and New York city deputy mayor of economic development under then Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“We are at the beginning of a historic transformation in cities,” Doctoroff said in a release. “We hope that Sidewalk will play a major role in developing technology products, platforms and advanced infrastructure that can be implemented at scale in cities around the world.”

While financial details were not disclosed, Page described Sidewalk as a “relatively modest investment” in building a business that is not only different from Google’s core internet operations but which could improve people’s lives.

He put Sidewalk on par with Google (x) lab headed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and known for ‘moonshots’ like self-driving cars.

“Making long-term, 10X bets like this is hard for most companies to do, but Sergey and I have always believed that it’s important,” Page said in his Google+ post. “And as more and more people around the world live, work and settle in cities, the opportunities for improving urban environments are endless.”

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