OpenAI ’ready to buy’ Chrome: reports

OpenAI is interested in buying the super popular Chrome web browser if Google is forced to sell it by a US Judge.

OpenAI is interested in buying the super popular Chrome web browser if Google is forced to sell it as part of an antitrust trial, a top executive testified Tuesday.

Bloomberg reports that OpenAI product manager Nick Turley revealed the start-up’s interest in the world’s most popular internet browser while testifying in court in Washington, D.C. 

Mr Turley fronted a judge tasked with finding what remedies to impose on Google after making a landmark decision last year that the tech giant had maintained an illegal monopoly on online search.

US government attorneys have urged Judge Amit Mehta to force Google to sell off the Chrome browser, arguing AI is poised to ramp up the tech giant’s online search dominance.

OpenAI expressed interest in acquiring Google’s Chrome browser if forced to sell due to antitrust issues, as revealed by product manager Nick Turley in court. Picture: Olivier Morin / AFP

Google countered that the US government had gone way beyond the scope of the suit by recommending that it be forced to sell Chrome, holding open the option to force a sale of its Android mobile operating system.

The legal case focused on Google’s agreements with partners such as Apple and Samsung to distribute its search tools noted Google president of global affairs Kent Walker.

“The DOJ chose to push a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership,” Walker wrote in a blog post.

“The DOJ’s wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court’s decision.”

A Bloomberg analyst estimated the price of Chrome browser, which has over three billion users, to be $15 billion or more.

Mr Turley said during his testimony that OpenAI had approached Google about integrating its search technology into ChatGPT artificial intelligence power digital assistant but was snubbed.

“We believe having multiple partners, and in particular Google’s API (Application Programming Interface), would enable us to provide a better product to users,” Mr Turley said.

The US government is advocating for the sale of Chrome to mitigate Google’s online search monopoly, while Google argues the proposal exceeds the court’s prior ruling. Picture: Josh Edelson / AFP

“We have no partnership with Google today.”

Google is among the tech companies investing heavily to be among the AI leaders and weaving the technology into search and other online offerings. Google has an estimated AI market share of between 1 and 2 per cent, while Open AI, the developer of ChatGPT, has around 7 per cent.

OpenAI cannot directly access Google’s search engine, but many speculate that such a step would significantly increase the capabilities of both technologies.

The DOJ case against Google regarding its dominance in internet search was filed in 2020, with Mehta ruling against Google in August 2024, and the tech giant appealed.

-With AFP

Originally published as OpenAI ’ready to buy’ Chrome: reports