Atlassian launches $936m takeover of Browser Company in AI browser push
Australian tech giant Atlassian has launched a $936m bid to transform workplace browsing, taking on reigning browser titans Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Microsoft Edge.
Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is shelling out almost $1bn to take on the web browser market.
The Australian software titan has agreed to buy The Browser Company of New York, the innovators behind the Dia and Arc browsers, for about $US610m ($936.2m) in cash.
This ambitious acquisition signals Atlassian’s intent to challenge the reigning browser titans — Google, Microsoft, and Apple — not for consumer eyeballs, but the lucrative realm of business productivity. Mr Cannon-Brookes says the deal has the potential to change how one billion workers use web browsers.
For years, the browser landscape has been largely settled, dominated by a handful of general-purpose platforms optimised for broad consumption. But Mike Cannon-Brookes argues that these existing browsers are fundamentally ill-suited for the modern knowledge worker, whose day is spent navigating a labyrinth of software as a service (SaaS) applications.
He highlighted myriad tabs that house various workplace applications that are crowding desktops and cause workers to become overwhelmed, becoming a drain on productivity.
“Together, we’re going to reimagine the browser for knowledge work in the AI era,” Mr Cannon-Brookes said.
“This is a huge opportunity for both Atlassian and The Browser company, and here’s why, we have the potential to change the way one billion knowledge workers use AI to get work done in their browser.
“You see, there’s a problem that every knowledge worker knows all too well. What do you notice about these tabs?” he said in a video, highlighting a crowded browser screen.
“They’re not all recipe sites or newspapers or friends feeds. Overwhelmingly, these tabs are SaaS applications and documents, because knowledge workers don’t just use their browser to browse. They use their browser to work.”
The vision is a browser deeply integrated with workflow context, capable of understanding and connecting disparate tasks across various SaaS applications — from project management tools to design software and email.
“Whether it’s your email or calendar, whether you’re managing projects, helping customers, balancing budgets or designing your app, every single tab represents work getting done. But the challenge is, your current browser wasn’t designed to help you with any of it. It was designed in an era before SaaS and well before the current AI revolution.
“Joining forces with The Browser Company, we have an opportunity to change that, and in doing so, to change your work day.”
Powered by artificial intelligence, this new browser aims to move beyond being a “passive bystander,” actively facilitating and accelerating business processes.
Mr Cannon-Brookes said this isn’t merely an incremental update. Atlassian is now aggressively moving into the front-end user experience, where workers spend the bulk of their digital day. It is the biggest acquisition since it acquired video messaging platform Loom for $1.5bn in late 2023.
Atlassian has been eager to showcase how its software can foster greater teamwork and generate productivity, putting it to the test by sponsoring Formula 1 team Williams and helping catapult it back up the grid.
Mr Cannon-Brookes said that by owning the critical browser interface, it can unlock new levels of productivity and solidify its position as the indispensable platform for enterprise collaboration.
The Browser Company co-founder and chief executive Josh Miller said: “For laptop workers, your browser is where your job actually happens – where you spend hours working within tabs every day. That context, plus access to your tools, is incredibly valuable for AI. Atlassian gets that.”
With more than 300,000 enterprise customers, including more than 80 per cent of the Fortune 500, Atlassian possesses a distribution channel to introduce Dia to millions of new knowledge workers.
The acquisition is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of the 2026 financial year, subject to regulatory approvals.
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