The U.S. federal antitrust trial is heating up, and at the center of the storm is one of the most widely used digital tools in the world – Google Chrome. According to Gabriel Weinberg, CEO of rival search engine DuckDuckGo, Chrome could be worth up to $50 billion if a court forces Google to sell it. 💥
🔹 The trial: The U.S. Department of Justice, along with a coalition of states, argues that Google holds an illegal monopoly over online search, and the most radical – yet most effective – solution could be to separate Chrome from the rest of the company.
🔹 Potential buyers are already interested: AI-driven companies like OpenAI and Perplexity have already expressed interest in acquiring Chrome if it hits the market. OpenAI, for example, currently uses Microsoft’s Bing to fetch search results for its chatbot ChatGPT.
🔹 Weinberg’s estimate: During the hearing, DuckDuckGo’s CEO estimated Chrome’s value based on its massive user base and global reach. While calling it a “back-of-the-envelope” estimate, he suggested the browser could fetch as much as $50 billion – far exceeding a previous valuation of $20 billion by Bloomberg analyst Mandeep Singh.
🔹 Google pushes back: Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is not voluntarily offering Chrome for sale and plans to appeal any ruling that finds it guilty of maintaining a monopoly.
🔹 AI as the new weapon in the search war: U.S. prosecutors argue that Google’s dominance in search also gives it an unfair advantage in artificial intelligence, allowing it to steer users back toward its main advertising business. Tools like Google Gemini could further entrench this dominance.
🔹 Tensions with OpenAI: Court documents revealed that Google rejected OpenAI’s request for access to its search API. According to emails presented during the hearing, Google declined the request in August, citing concerns that the deal would “involve too many competitors.” OpenAI responded that access to the API would help it “deliver a better product” to users.
What Happens Next?
Judge Amit Mehta is currently weighing possible remedies – from minor product adjustments to the drastic step of forcing Chrome’s sale. His decision, expected later this year, could determine whether one of the world’s most popular internet gateways stays under Google’s roof or finds a new owner. 🌐
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