Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announce they will step down as CEO and president of parent company

They created a revolutionary search engine. It became a software and advertising giant. Their resignations comes at a challenging time.

The co-founders of Google have announced they’ll be stepping down from its parent company Alphabet at possibly the most challenging time in its history because “there’s a better way to run the company”.

Larry Page, 46, and Sergey Brin, 46, officially founded Google in 1998 after two years of working on the search engine while at Stanford University.

In its early days, the company was housed in the garage of their friend Susan Wojcicki, who coincidentally would go on to become CEO of Google-owned YouTube around 16 years later.

They quickly outgrew the garage and moved to offices in Palo Alto after a few months.

Larry Page (left) and Sergey Brin (right) with a Google logo in 2004. Picture: (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

In the next two decades their search engine and the algorithms behind it became the most effective tool for searching the internet.

The company reached such ubiquity that its name was recognised as a verb.

It acquired and expanded the Android operating system and made it into the most used, installed on more than 2.5 billion devices around the world.

Working at Google became one of the most sought-after jobs in Silicon Valley and, of course, the pair became exceedingly wealthy men.

Mr Page and Mr Brin have a net worth of $US59 billion ($A86 billion) and $US56 billion ($A81 billion) respectively.

But it’s not all smooth sailing running one of the world’s biggest tech companies.

The algorithms that were originally at the heart of its success have now been accused of fostering addiction and spreading misinformation.

Its company name was obscured behind the holding company Alphabet to separate and operate its growing stable of acquired companies it would later be accused of purchasing to stifle competition by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (which is also suing the company for allegedly misleading customers over the collection and handling of data).

The perceived perks of working there have begun to lose their appeal, and the company is being criticised for firing employees at the centre of a unionisation movement.

These factors and many more mean there’s never been a better time to walk away from a job running the Alphabet businesses.

Google has come under increased scrutiny over the last few years for its use of power and handling of data. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Larry Page speaking at a conference in 2015 Picture: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Sergey Brin demonstrating Google's ultimately failed Glass wearable internet glasses. Picture; AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

“We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company,” Mr Page and Mr Brin wrote in a letter to Alphabet investors reporting the management changes.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google for the past four years, will now take over as CEO of Alphabet as well.

“I’m excited about Alphabet and its long-term focus on tackling big challenges through technology,” Mr Pichai said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Larry and Sergey in our new roles. Thanks to them, we have a timeless mission, enduring values, and a culture of collaboration and exploration. It’s a strong foundation on which we will continue to build.”

Google and now Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaking at a company conference earlier this year. Picture: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File

Mr Pichai appearing before a US House Judiciary Committee into the company's privacy, security and data collection. Picture: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File

It’s understood Mr Brin’s role as president will be eliminated following his departure.

Both Mr Page and Mr Brin will remain involved with the company as co-founders, shareholders and members of Alphabet’s board of directors in a capacity the pair described as being like “proud parents – offering advice and love, but not daily nagging”.

Alphabet chairman John Hennessy said he was pleased the pair would remain on the board.

“It’s impossible to overstate Larry and Sergey’s contributions over the past 21 years. I’m grateful that they will continue their involvement,” he said.

Last year Google pulled in $4.3 billion in Australia alone, for which the company paid a paltry $26.5 million in tax.

If you had the same 0.61 per cent tax rate as Google you’d pay around $520 tax – around half the price of the company’s new Pixel 4 smartphones – if you earned the Government’s declared average wage of $84,968 a year.

Much of the company’s local revenue is channelled through its offices in corporate tax haven Singapore, which is also home to similarly tax-averse tech giant Facebook.

A Singaporean dissident recently warned both companies they should move their offices out of Singapore or risk being “held hostage” by the city-state’s “backwards” politics.

Do you think the pair have made the right decision after 21 years on the job? Let us know what you think in the comments below.