Google vs Yelp: Founders, CEOs and History
Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page, Sergey Brin and is led by Sundar Pichai. Yelp was founded in 2004 by Jeremy Stoppelman, Russel Simmons and is led by Jeremy Stoppelman.
Company facts
Founders
Larry Page
Google possesses arguably the most famous, influential founding story in the history of Silicon Valley, rooted in the academic environment of Stanford University and a foundational obsession with organizing all of human knowledge.
Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin co-founded Google and played a central role in the early engineering, product, and cultural development of the company. He helped build the search technology, recruit technical talent, and preserve a culture that valued bold experiments.
Yelp
Jeremy Stoppelman
Jeremy Stoppelman co-founded Yelp in 2004 and has been its chief executive officer since then. He led the company through its 2012 NYSE listing, its move to focus on Services advertising and its AI product push, including the 2026 acquisition of Hatch.
Russel Simmons
Russel Simmons co-founded Yelp with Jeremy Stoppelman in 2004 and was its chief technology officer during its early years. He left the company in 2010.
CEOs and their tenures
- Larry Page1998–2019
Co-founder and Former CEO
Larry Page is one of the most consequential technologists of the modern era. His initial algorithmic breakthrough organized the chaotic early internet, creating the essential infrastructure for the modern digital economy.
Source - Eric Schmidt2001–2011
Former CEO and Executive Chairman
Schmidt was the indispensable bridge between a chaotic academic research project and a globally dominant, publicly traded corporation.
Source - Sundar Pichai2015–present
CEO of Alphabet and Google
Pichai provides crucial corporate stability and pragmatic product leadership, transitioning Google from its chaotic early years into a profitable, mature corporate giant.
Source
Yelp
- David Schwarzbach
Chief Financial Officer
Oversees Yelp's financial reporting, guidance and capital returns, including $292 million of buybacks in 2025.
Source - Jeremy Stoppelman2004–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Has run Yelp since it was founded, through the 2012 IPO and up to today's $1.46 billion revenue base.
Source - Russel Simmons2004–2010
Co-Founder and former Chief Technology Officer
Built Yelp's early technology platform.
Source
Timeline: Google and Yelp side by side
1998Google
Google Founded
Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google after developing PageRank at Stanford University. The search engine ranked web pages by link authority, which made results feel more relevant than portal-era competitors.
2000Google
AdWords Launch
Google launched AdWords in 2000 and connected advertising to search intent. Businesses could pay to appear near relevant queries, eventually through auction-based performance advertising.
2004Google
Google IPO
Google went public in 2004 using an auction process and priced 19,605,052 shares at $85, raising about $1.67B. The IPO gave the company capital for hiring, data centers, acquisitions, and global expansion.
2004Yelp
Yelp founded
Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons start Yelp at MRL Ventures in San Francisco.
2005Google
Android Acquisition
Google acquired Android in 2005 to secure a role in mobile operating systems before smartphones became the main internet device. Android later gave Google global reach through manufacturers such as Samsung and many others.
2006Google
YouTube Acquisition
Google closed the YouTube acquisition in 2006 for stock valued at $1.65B. The deal gave Google a user-generated video platform, creator ecosystem, and advertising surface outside text search before online video had a mature business model.
2008Google
DoubleClick Acquisition
Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1B to expand its advertising infrastructure beyond search. The deal strengthened display advertising, ad serving, and publisher relationships. It helped Google build a broader ad-tech stack.
2012Yelp
NYSE listing
Yelp goes public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker YELP.
2014Google
DeepMind Acquisition
Google acquired DeepMind in 2014 to deepen its artificial intelligence research bench. DeepMind later became known for AlphaGo and other breakthroughs in reinforcement learning and scientific AI.
2015Google
Alphabet Restructuring
Google restructured into Alphabet Inc. In 2015, separating core Google from Other Bets. The move gave investors clearer visibility into Search, YouTube, Android, and Cloud economics while preserving room for Waymo, Verily, Calico, and X.
2017Yelp
Eat24 sold to Grubhub
Yelp sells Eat24 to Grubhub for $287.5 million.
2019Google
Sundar Pichai Becomes Alphabet CEO
Sundar Pichai became CEO of Alphabet in 2019 after Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped back from daily operations. Pichai inherited a company facing cloud competition, antitrust scrutiny, privacy pressure, and rising AI expectations.
2023Google
Google DeepMind Integration
Alphabet combined major AI research efforts under Google DeepMind to accelerate frontier model development. The move followed competitive pressure from OpenAI and Microsoft.
2024Yelp
RepairPal acquired
Yelp acquires auto repair network RepairPal for $80 million.
2025Google
FY2025 Revenue Tops $402B
Alphabet reported FY2025 revenue of $402.836B and net income of $132.170B. The milestone showed that Search ads, YouTube, Cloud, and subscriptions kept scaling despite regulatory and AI disruption concerns.
2025Yelp
Record net revenue
Net revenue reaches $1.46 billion and Services advertising reaches $948 million.
2026Yelp
Hatch acquired
Yelp closes its purchase of AI lead-management platform Hatch on February 2, 2026, for about $270 million in cash.
Acquisitions
- Wiz2025$32B
- Mandiant2022$5.4B
- Fitbit2021$2.1B
- DeepMind2014$500M
- DoubleClick2008$3.1B
- YouTube2006$1.6B
Yelp
- Hatch (Hatchify Inc.)2026$270M
- RepairPal2024$80M
- Nowait2017$40M
- Eat242015$134M
- SeatMe2013$12.7M
Questions about Google vs Yelp
Who is the CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Yelp Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. is led by Sundar Pichai and Yelp Inc. is led by Jeremy Stoppelman. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Alphabet Inc. founded vs Yelp Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. was founded in 1998 — 6 years before Yelp Inc., which was founded in 2004. Alphabet Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Yelp Inc..
How many employees does Alphabet Inc. have compared to Yelp Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. employs approximately 190,820 people, while Yelp Inc. employs approximately 5,168. Alphabet Inc. has the larger workforce at 190,820 employees, compared to Yelp Inc.'s 5,168. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Alphabet Inc. and Yelp Inc. headquartered?
Both Alphabet Inc. and Yelp Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Alphabet Inc. and Yelp Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. was founded by Larry Page, Sergey Brin. Yelp Inc. was founded by Jeremy Stoppelman, Russel Simmons.
Which company has a longer operating history — Alphabet Inc. or Yelp Inc.?
Alphabet Inc. has been operating for approximately 28 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Yelp Inc. has been in operation for around 22 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Google vs Yelp overview