Latest news with #BrianProvost
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Yahoo Joins OpenAI on List of Suitors for Google Chrome
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Yahoo has joined the list of potential buyers for Google Chrome, after ChatGPT maker OpenAI expressed interest earlier this week. The news comes as Google may soon be forced to divest Chrome, following the outcome of a Department of Justice lawsuit in August 2024. Judge Amit Mehta ruled that 'Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly' in the search space, employing anti-competitive practices in the process. Though a sale is not yet confirmed, it's one of several proposed remedies currently on the table. Brian Provost, the general manager for Yahoo Search, said Chrome is 'arguably the most important strategic player on the web' in a recent hearing, first reported by Bloomberg. The executive said that Yahoo 'would be able to pursue' the acquisition with the support of Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm that acquired Yahoo in 2021. Provost also said Yahoo is currently developing its own web browser as part of plans to 'revitalize' its search offering, and would also consider the purchase of other browsers. The news follows another statement of interest from a senior executive at OpenAI earlier this week. ChatGPT head of product Nick Turley said OpenAI was interested in buying the browser, and told the court how having access to Google's technology would help improve the quality of OpenAI's products. OpenAI has increasingly been prioritizing its own search offering since the launch of SearchGPT last year. Though their paths have diverged, Yahoo and Google have a long shared history in the world of web search. Yahoo was at one point the most popular search engine in the world, before slowly losing its market share to Google in the early 2000s. Google's legal team certainly isn't letting the prized browser go without a fight, however. Google has argued that a sale of Chrome would endanger the future of Chromium, the open-source browser that serves as the foundation for Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Samsung Internet. It's also argued that data security issues could arise if Chrome was to be transferred to a new or foreign owner. Other, more left-field suitors for Chrome have emerged, including AI start-up Perplexity earlier this week. But it's unclear how a company of that size could fund the purchase of such a popular web browser.
American Military News
26-04-2025
- Business
- American Military News
Yahoo is ready to buy Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell
Internet company Yahoo Inc. — backed by owner Apollo Global Management Inc. — would bid for the Chrome web browser if a federal court orders Google to divest it as a remedy for maintaining an illegal monopoly, a senior executive said. Brian Provost, the general manager for Yahoo Search, testified Thursday during Google's trial in Washington that his company estimates the browser would have a sale price in the tens of billions of dollars. Chrome is 'arguably the most important strategic player on the web,' Provost said. 'We would be able to pursue it with Apollo.' Provost testified as part of a three-week hearing in the Justice Department's case against Alphabet Inc.'s Google to determine how to remedy the company's monopoly in internet search. Judge Amit Mehta ruled last year Google illegally monopolized the market and is contemplating a package of changes proposed by antitrust enforcers. The Justice Department and a group of U.S. states have argued that Google should be forced to sell off its popular Chrome browser. Yahoo was the leading search engine in the early 2000s before losing that position to Google. The company has changed hands several times; Apollo purchased it in 2021 from Verizon Communications Inc. Since the Apollo takeover, Yahoo has been seeking to 'revitalize' its search engine, and started building its own browser that remains in development, Provost said. The company has also considered buying a browser and became interested in purchasing Chrome as soon as the Justice Department's proposal became public, he said. Yahoo would likely have competition. OpenAI also would be interested in buying Chrome browser, the head of ChatGPT said during the trial Tuesday. 'Yes, we would, as would many other parties,' Nick Turley, OpenAI's ChatGPT chief, said in response to a question about whether the company would seek to buy Google's browser. ___ © 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Russia Today
25-04-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Google rival ready to snap up Chrome
Yahoo is ready to buy popular web browser Chrome if a US federal court orders the current owner, Google, to divest from it in an anti-monopoly lawsuit, Bloomberg has reported. According to the outlet, the general manager for Yahoo Search, Brian Provost, testified at Google's trial in Washington on Thursday, stating that Chrome is 'arguably the most important strategic player on the web' and that his company estimates that the browser's sale prices would be in the tens of billions of dollars. 'We would be able to pursue it with Apollo,' Provost said, referring to Yahoo's parent company – Apollo Global Management. Provost's testimony came as part of a three-week hearing against Google to determine how to get the company to remedy its overwhelming dominance in internet search, in which Chrome plays a major part, according to the US Department of Justice. The trial began on Monday following last year's ruling by a US judge that Google had illegally monopolized the internet search market. Google attorney John Schmidtlein has dismissed the government's proposed remedies as 'extreme' and 'fundamentally flawed,' arguing that the company won its place in the market 'fair and square.' Schmidtlein suggested that the government's demand that Google sell off Chrome would 'reward competitors with advantages they never would have earned in a market where Google competed.' Other contenders to take Chrome off of Google's hands include ChatGPT developer OpenAI and AI search engine Perplexity. As reported by TechCrunch, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas has admitted that his company wants a web browser to help further develop its AI model, and 'get data even outside the [Perplexity] app to better understand you.' 'Because some of the prompts that people do in these AIs is purely work-related. It's not like that's personal,' he explained on the TBPN podcast. 'On the other hand, what are the things you're buying; which hotels are you going [to]; which restaurants are you going to; what are you spending time browsing, tells us so much more about you,' he added, noting that this information could be used to build a better user profile and 'show some ads' in the 'discover' feed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI and Yahoo both want Chrome if Google has to sell
ChatGPT creator OpenAI ( and Yahoo would like to buy Google's Chrome web browser if a federal judge orders a sale of the internet's most popular gateway. The interest of these companies emerged this week during a trial that will determine whether Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google search empire will be broken up by federal judge Amit Mehta, who ruled last year that Google operated an illegal online search monopoly. The Justice Department wants Google to sell its Chrome browser, and potentially its Android operating system, among other remedies. Executives from OpenAI and Yahoo both disclosed in court that they would like their names in the mix if Chrome were to become available. Brian Provost, Yahoo Search's general manager, said so Thursday, noting it would cost tens of billions and that the company would be able to fund it with backing from its owner, Apollo Global Management (APO). (Disclosure: Yahoo Finance is owned by Apollo Global Management, and Yahoo is Yahoo Finance's parent company.) He said Chrome would help boost Yahoo's market share in search, according to The Verge. As of March 2025, Chrome dominated the browser market with a market share of about 66%. Apple's (APPL) Safari held roughly 18%, and Microsoft's Edge held 5%. It is "arguably the most important strategic player on the web," Provost said, according to Bloomberg. Under questioning, he also said Yahoo had been working to develop its own prototype browser. Executives from artificial intelligence-based search providers also took the stand and said they would have an interest in Chrome if it were up for sale. One was Nick Turley, head of product for OpenAI's artificial intelligence-based search platform ChatGPT. Integrating ChatGPT with Chrome, Turley said, could expand OpenAI's distribution and boost the quality of its search, which currently relies on Microsoft's Bing browser technology. Microsoft (MSFT) is OpenAI's biggest backer. Dmitry Shevelenko, chief business officer for Perplexity AI, also testified that the AI-fueled search startup could effectively run Chrome and that Chrome could boost its growing business. However, he cautioned that a buyer could shutter Google's Chromium, the open-source technology that powers Chrome, which developers use to iterate and build new web browsers and other products. For that and other reasons, Google has pushed back against the government's divestiture proposal. A Google representative told Yahoo Finance that forcing it to sell Chrome would jeopardize rival browser providers that rely on Chromium's open-source code, including Microsoft's Edge and others, and undermine privacy and security for consumers who use the search tools. The trial is expected to conclude on May 9. Judge Mehta is expected to issue a decision by August on how to remedy Google's anticompetitive practices. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed. Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
After OpenAI, Yahoo says it is ready to buy Google Chrome browser: ‘...arguably the most important strategic…'
Yahoo has indicated that it intends to bid for the Google Chrome web browser should a federal court order the tech giant to divest the asset as a remedy for its alleged illegal search monopoly. Brian Provost, the General Manager for Yahoo Search, testified on Thursday (April 24) during the ongoing remedies phase of the justice department's antitrust trial against Google in Washington. Provost stated that Yahoo estimates the value of Chrome to be in the tens of billions of dollars. 'Chrome is arguably the most important strategic player on the web. We would be able to pursue it with Apollo [Global Management Inc.],' Provost asserted, as per Bloomberg. Provost's testimony is part of a three-week hearing before judge Amit Mehta, who ruled last year that Alphabet's Google illegally monopolised the internet search market. The court is currently considering a range of proposed changes put forth by antitrust enforcers to address this unlawful conduct. Yahoo, a dominant search engine in the early 2000s before being overtaken by Google, has undergone several ownership changes, with Apollo acquiring it from Verizon Communications in 2021. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Since the acquisition by Apollo, Yahoo has been actively working to 'revitalize' its search engine and has commenced the development of its own browser, according to Provost. He further stated that the company became interested in acquiring Chrome immediately after the Justice Department's divestiture proposal became public. OpenAI also wants to buy Chrome However, Yahoo is likely to face competition in any potential bid for Chrome. Nick Turley, the head of OpenAI's ChatGPT, testified on Tuesday that his company would also be interested in purchasing Google's browser, echoing the strategic importance of Chrome in the current digital landscape. 'Yes, we would, as would many other parties,' Turley said in response to a question about OpenAI's potential interest earlier this week.
