Google started in 1995 as a research project between Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. They developed the PageRank algorithm to provide relevant search results by analyzing backlinks between websites. After launching Google.com in 1998, it quickly grew in popularity for its superior search capabilities. Google went public in 2004 and is now one of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization, generating most of its revenue from advertising on its search engine and websites.