The world's biggest internet-based companies
A quarter of a century ago, British physicist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web - and unleashed a revolution. Here are the 10 biggest companies that would have been unthinkable without the web.
#10: Salesforce
The San Francisco-based company is a worldwide leader in cloud computing solutions for business. It makes programs available for rent over the internet - a concept also know as "software as a service." Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff calls it "the end of software." Market cap: $57 billion (51 billion euros).
#9: Ant Financial
Ant Financial Services Group - formerly known as Alipay - is a subsidiary of China's Alibaba Group. It operates an online payment platform. The company provides online payment services and also sells insurance products. Headquarters is in Hangzhou, China. Market cap: $60 billion.
#8: Baidu
Baidu is a Chinese company that operates the search engine of the same name. Alexa internet statistics show Beijing-based Baidu as one of the world's top-five websites. The search engine is frequently accused of playing a role in China's state internet monitoring. Market cap: $62 billion.
#7: Uber
Uber operates a website and smartphone app that allows passengers to find a ride, generally private drivers using their own cars. The San Francisco company receives a commission of up to 20 percent of the price. Uber is very controversial due to its use of non-licensed drivers and has faced legal action in numerous countries. Market cap: $63 billion.
#6: Priceline
The Priceline Group is a US company based in Norwalk, Connecticut. It operates the online travel portal. It was founded in 1997 and went public two years later. In 2010, Priceline.com was the world's largest search engine for hotel reservations. Priceline also operates travel, car rental and restaurant portals. Market cap: $63 billion.
#5: Alibaba
The internet auction and trading platform Alibaba was founded in 1999 by former English teacher Jack Ma. Six years later, Yahoo took a 40-percent stake in the Hangzhou, China-based company. Alibaba has been traded on the New York Stock Exchange since September 2014. Its 22 billion dollar IPO was one of the largest ever. Market cap: $205 billion.
#4: Tencent
The company is legally based in the Cayman Islands (British tax haven), but its main office is in Shenzhen, China. Tencent is involved in social networks, web portals, internet-based telephony, online games, e-commerce and online advertising. Market cap: $206 billion.
#3: Facebook
With more than 1.7 billion active monthly users, the empire of founder and multi-billionaire is by far the world's biggest social network. Since it went online in 2004, Facebook has faced criticism, particularly in Europe, about its data protection policies - without any obvious effect on its growth. Market cap: $340 billion.
#2: Amazon
The mother of all online retailers is also the largest in terms of sales and market capitalization. Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos - who still leads the Seattle, Washington-based company today. But the online giant has faced anger, particularly due to its tax avoidance strategies. Market cap: $341 billion.
#1: Google/Alphabet
Internet services, e-commerce, online advertising, software development, health, biotechnology, investment - Alphabet Inc. has been the holding company for Google and its former offshoots. The company is based in Mountain View, California, in Silicon Valley. It's headed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Market cap: $510 billion.