Google Doodle piñata game marks search engine's 15th birthday Originally named BackRub and based in a garage, Google was founded by PhD students Larry Page and Sergey Brin as part of a research project when they were at Stanford University. It has since grown into the world's most visited website, making its founders multi-billionaires. However, Google celebrates its birthday on 27 September each year. It is thought that this stems from an argument the search engine had with Yahoo in 2005 over their respective size and growth rate. "Throughout its 15 year reign Google has transformed the way we educate, communicate and connect," said Nick Williams from networking firm Brocade. It opened up the world with internet search, drove mobility with the most popular mobile platform in the world and its range of Nexus tablets and smartphones, and now with the introduction of Google Glass it's offering hands-free connectivity to the internet.