In 1998, an investor writes a $100,000 cheque to a startup called Google, which was running out of a garage; founders Larry Page, Sergey Brin set it up as a business the very next day, now the company is worth more than $4 trillion

Google turns 28 today, and the search giant is marking the day with a special Doodle. The artwork brings back a nostalgic version of Google's old logo, a nod to the company's earliest days. It is a small tribute to a story that began in a university dorm room and grew into one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Stanford dorm rooms to Backrub

The story of Google goes back to 1995, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University. Page was thinking about joining Stanford for his graduate studies, and Brin, already a student there, was asked to show him around. By most accounts, the two did not agree on much during that first meeting. But somehow, within a year, they found common ground and started working together.

Working out of their dorm rooms, Page and Brin built a search engine that worked differently from others at the time. Instead of just matching keywords, it looked at links between pages to figure out which ones mattered most. They called this early project Backrub.

How Google got its name

It did not stay Backrub for long. The name was soon changed to Google, taken from "googol," the mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. It fit well with what they wanted to do, organise the world's information and make it useful for everyone.

The $100,000 cheque that formed Google Inc

By 1998, Google had caught the attention of people beyond the Stanford campus. That year, Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a cheque for $100,000, made out to a company called Google Inc. There was just one problem. Google Inc. did not exist yet, at least not on paper.

The cheque forced Larry Page and Sergey Brin to act fast. They legally formed the company the very next day, just so they could deposit the money.

Google's garage beginnings in Menlo Park

At the time, Google was still running out of a garage in Menlo Park, California. The garage belonged to Susan Wojcicki, who would later become the company's sixteenth employee and, many years after that, the CEO of YouTube. The space was simple, filled with basic desktop computers, a ping pong table, and bright blue carpet. It was not glamorous, but it worked.

From that garage, Google slowly built its first team and started shaping the company culture that still shows up today.

Early Google culture and quirky traditions

Even in those early days, Google did things a little differently. Its first server was reportedly built using Lego blocks. A dog named Yoshka became one of the first fixtures at the office, starting a tradition of pets around the workplace that continues at Google offices now.

As the company grew, it moved out of the garage and eventually settled into its now famous headquarters in Mountain View, California, known simply as the Googleplex.

The story behind the first Google Doodle

One tradition that started in those early years was the Google Doodle. The very first Doodle appeared in 1998, and it was nothing fancy, just a stick figure placed behind the second O in the logo. It was Google's quiet way of telling visitors that the entire team was away at the Burning Man festival.

That simple idea turned into a long running tradition. Over the years, Doodles have marked festivals, historical events, birthdays, and achievements from all over the world.

Google's 28th birthday Doodle in 2026

This year's birthday Doodle continues that same spirit. It looks back at where Google came from, a small search engine project between two students, and how far it has travelled since. Today, Google runs hundreds of products used by billions of people every single day, from Search and Gmail to YouTube and Android.

From a $100,000 cheque and a rented garage to a company now worth more than $4 trillion, Google's journey stands as one of the most unusual and well documented stories in modern technology. Twenty eight years on, the story that started with a chance meeting between two Stanford students is still being written, one Doodle, one product, and one milestone at a time.

Google's Tap Party birthday contest

Google's birthday celebration this year also comes with a Google Store contest called Tap Party. Players get 60 seconds to pop balloons and score points, with winners eligible for a Pixel 11 Series phone or discount codes on Google devices. The contest ran from September 15 to 20, 2026, and rewards can be used during Google's birthday sale between September 25 and 30.