Go, also known as Golang, is a statically-typed, compiled programming language designed by Google engineers Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. Released in 2009, Go aims to provide a simple and efficient way to develop concurrent and scalable software. It features a clean syntax, garbage collection, strong support for concurrent programming through goroutines, and a built-in package system that facilitates modular and reusable code. Go is particularly well-suited for systems programming, cloud-based applications, and large-scale distributed systems.