OpenAI Wants to Buy Google's Chrome Browser

OpenAI would consider purchasing the Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell it as a remedy for anticompetitive search practices, ChatGPT product lead Nick Turley said today.

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According to The Information, Turley provided the detail as part of a court hearing that will determine remedies to address Google's antitrust violations.

The United States Department of Justice wants Google to divest Chrome after the DoJ won an antitrust lawsuit against Google last year. The court decided that Google has an illegal monopoly on search, and the judge overseeing the case is now deciding on the punishment (or remedies) that Google will face as a result.

The DoJ pointed to OpenAI as company that's growth has been hampered by Google's hold on search. Last year, OpenAI asked Google for access to search data to bolster SearchGPT, but Google refused.

Along with potentially being forced to sell Chrome, Google could be forced to allow rivals to access its search data. Turley said that access to Google's real-time data would allow OpenAI to "build a better product faster."

Google is also likely to be prohibited from entering into search related deals with Apple and other companies. Google has long paid Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default Safari search engine, giving Google a significant advantage in the search market.

The DoJ is also recommending that Google divest Android, but only if the other proposed remedies are not effective at keeping Google from "improperly leveraging" the operating system, or if Google tries to circumvent the other requirements put in place.

During his testimony, Turley also said that OpenAI offered to pay Apple a portion of the revenue generated by the Siri ChatGPT integration, but it is not clear if Apple has accepted payment, and prior reports suggested that it was a deal that does not see Apple paying OpenAI, or OpenAI paying Apple.

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Top Rated Comments

GMShadow Avatar
26 weeks ago
Chrome being sold to OpenAI would be like herpes merging with HIV. No one is going to like the end result.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
26 weeks ago
So it goes from not trusting one company to not trusting another.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
timber Avatar
26 weeks ago
Taking Chrome from Google to promote competition in search and give it to the probable "search of the future" does seem an odd choice.
Like jumping from the pan to the fire.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kottu Avatar
26 weeks ago
I don’t understand why the DOJ wants Google to sell off Chrome. Honestly, Google has invested a lot to make Chrome what it is today. It’s the same with the EU pushing Apple to open up its technology to others. It feels like governments are only focused on challenging tech companies, while there are far more pressing issues in the world.

P.S: I don’t use Chrome.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Think|Different Avatar
26 weeks ago
This is wild. I don’t really mess with Google too much anymore, beyond a burner GMAIL account, but I really don’t see the ‘issue’ of them having their own (bloated) web browser.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
n-evo Avatar
26 weeks ago
Chrome being sold off to some other big tech company is pretty much pointless and won’t change anything in the long run.

I think the only real solution here is if Chrome is given to a new independent foundation where a consortium of parties (as many as are willing) are able to contribute but where none actually own the browser, and is made completely open source and stripped from any commercial additions. So I guess basically Chromium becoming the default Chrome?

I just don’t really see where that would leave other commercial forks like Edge. Kinda weird if those were continued allowed to exist because it can lead to a similar situation.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)