Investors are bullish on AI search, and the wealth of Google's two founders soars by $18.3 billion

According to news in the morning of May 15, Beijing time, Google has launched a new version of its search engine and added AI functions. Investors are optimistic about this change. The share price of Google's parent company Alphabet rose, and the wealth of the two co-founders instantly increased by $18 billion.

The latest figures show that Larry Page's net worth rose by $9.4 billion last week to $106.9 billion, while Sergey Brin's net worth rose by $8.9 billion to $102.1 billion.

Google said at a developer conference last Wednesday that it would try to promote a more conversational search engine and open up AI chat robots to more users. Alphabet shares rose 8.6 per cent in two days and rose about 1 per cent again on Friday.

Page and Brin had decided to step out of the company's day-to-day operations, but in recent years they have paid special attention to AI and actively participated in the company's affairs. The wealth of Page and Brin grew by more than $22 billion in 2023, respectively, making them the eighth and ninth richest people in the world.

Eric Schmidt, a former CEO of Google, was also a beneficiary of the AI wave, investing in a number of AI startups, despite public demands to slow down AI development. Schmidt, who has a fortune of about $23.6 billion, mostly related to Alphabet, is the third-largest individual shareholder in Alphabet, and his net worth has increased by $1.8 billion in recent days.