Latest news with #Netscape
Reuters
24-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Breakingviews - Netscape IPO casts a shadow from 1995 over AI boom
NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - With a $300 billion valuation, ChatGPT developer OpenAI towers over peak Netscape. The trailblazing web browser, however, looms large from Silicon Valley to Wall Street as the 30th anniversary of its world-shaking initial public offering approaches. Both the similarities and differences with the internet craze have created some worrisome conditions for today's artificial intelligence mania. Netscape IPO delirium was instrumental in reshaping technology and finance. The company went public on August 9, 1995, just 16 months after veteran entrepreneur Jim Clark and computer programming whiz Marc Andreessen started it. With assistance from Morgan Stanley's Frank Quattrone and Mary Meeker, and Bill Hambrecht of Hambrecht & Quist, the co-founders cleared the way for unprofitable, fast-growing ventures to attract investments from big money managers. The frenzy to buy its shares also spawned a dotcom boom that would run for nearly five years. Moreover, Netscape helped rewrite funding handbooks, debunked some of the first-mover gospel, and provides lasting cautionary tales about capital intensity and the threat from entrenched rivals. As AI fever grips the market, these developments are instructive. Consider the technological backdrop as Netscape released its user-friendly Navigator browser three decades ago. Soon after the market debut, Meeker drafted the first of her regular trend-spotting reports, which have become required reading, opens new tab for the industry. 'What is the Internet?' she pondered early in the inaugural 323-page presentation. While TVs and corded telephones could be found in 95% of U.S. households, less than 1% of the world's population had access to the worldwide web, including email. There were about 16 million users. Netscape sold 5 million shares for $28 apiece, nowhere near enough to satisfy insatiable demand for a company considered to be the future of the internet, despite having lost $4 million on $15 million of revenue during the first half of 1995. The stock nearly tripled, before ending the day at about $58 to impute a $2.3 billion market value. Six months later, the boom got an extra boost from the U.S. government. Deregulation of the telecom industry helped fuel a nearly $500 billion spending spree over roughly five years to build network capacity. There are some notable differences between then and now. Just look at OpenAI, whose ChatGPT exploded onto the scene much like Netscape did by making an arcane technology accessible to the masses. The firm led by Sam Altman is now almost a decade old and three years have passed since it shook up the industry, but it remains beyond the reach of most investors. OpenAI recently raised $40 billion privately, the single biggest funding round in Silicon Valley history, at a $300 billion valuation. With so much venture and later-stage money available to entrepreneurs, it's no wonder the number of tech IPOs has plummeted from 370 in 1999 to just 14 last year. Myriad scandals from the dotcom era involving inflated valuations, excess commissions and improperly allocated shares also led to new regulations that chilled some of Wall Street's willingness to underwrite unproven business models. Efforts in 2012 to make it easier for smaller startups to go public failed to jumpstart the market and arguably put investors at greater risk by reducing the amount of required corporate disclosure. New tech stock issuance is so fallow that JPMorgan has started providing, opens new tab clients with research about private ones. 'Some good business models are out there,' Hambrecht, one of the bankers who advised Netscape, told Breakingviews in an interview earlier this month. 'There's still a lot of demand for new investments, and sites like Robinhood are bringing a new dimension with younger, more aggressive investors. There's just a lack of issues, and I just think the financial markets have changed so significantly since Netscape.' Another big reminder of the time remains entrenched in the technological firmament: Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab. The software behemoth squashed Navigator, which had amassed about 90% of the browser market, by bundling its competing Internet Explorer with the Windows 95 operating system. The aggression attracted the attention of U.S. trustbusters, leading to a landmark lawsuit and settlement. Seemingly heeding the ominous precedent, Microsoft boss Satya Nadella carefully partnered with OpenAI in 2019 while providing a $1 billion investment. Since then, however, the relationship has become increasingly strained, leaving open the possibility that history will rhyme. Altman has another good reason to brush up on the browser wars. Netscape could not have mobilized any faster, having developed a product, dominated the market and created investment buzz within 16 months. And yet it was unable to keep up with a deep-pocketed rival. The company swiftly ceded its share of users and succumbed to giving Navigator away free. In late 1998, Netscape agreed to an ill-fated sale to dial-up internet service provider America Online for about $4 billion in stock, worth $10 billion by the time the deal closed months later. One risk for Altman is that ChatGPT winds up similarly clearing a path only for more established rivals to ultimately walk it. 'It's always striking – given all the tech enthusiasm – how few companies become massive winners. There's a lesson there,' Meeker wrote to Breakingviews in an emailed reply to questions. 'There's also a lesson related to just how massive and foundational the big winners can become.' Her observation partly explains the mad rush to build data centers, buy chips and secure the power used to train and expand large language models. The danger is that all this investment alters Big Tech's use of capital for the worse. Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are on track to deploy more than $300 billion this year alone, a 13-fold increase from a decade ago. Although they're funding the outlays with their own cash flow, unlike the debt-heavy telecom providers of the 1990s, there is a risk that capacity winds up similarly outpacing demand. As if all that isn't enough to give investors pause, there are other indications of recklessness, any one of which could cause fear to ripple through the market. Cryptocurrency exuberance abounds thanks to relaxed restrictions; shell companies stuffed with cash have made a comeback buying speculative ventures; meme stocks keep raging; and U.S. regulators have proposed rolling back rules designed to curb day trading and protect investors from big losses that were put into place in 2001 after the dotcom bust. The dearth of IPOs is also leading to a proliferation of sites offering unproven access to hot, private tech firms. It's all part of a shaky edifice that portends another bittersweet anniversary. Full view will be published shortly. Follow Jeffrey Goldfarb on X, opens new tab and Linkedin, opens new tab.
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
FedEx founder Fred Smith dies at 80
FedEx founder Frederick Wallace Smith, whose express shipping company revolutionized air cargo transportation and set the standard for "absolutely, positively" overnight delivery, died on June 21, FedEx has confirmed. He was 80. Smith, who led FedEx as its chairman and CEO for the vast majority of his tenure, took the rough idea detailed in his rushed college term paper and molded it into a global shipping juggernaut now worth tens of billions of dollars, handling millions of packages every day and employing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. "Fred was more than just the pioneer of an industry and the founder of our great company. He was the heart and soul of FedEx – its PSP culture, values, integrity, and spirit," FedEx CEO and President Raj Subramaniam said in a message sent to FedEx team members. "He was a mentor to many and a source of inspiration to all. He was also a proud father, grandfather, husband, Marine, and friend; please keep the entire Smith family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time." It took years for Smith's vision to get off the ground. Financing hurdles and regulatory restraints extended the time it took to prove the immense value of an express shipping network for businesses who needed vital goods like machine parts and electronics delivered fast. Before FedEx, urgent air cargo was at the whim of passenger planes. 'I just knew it was correct, but there were only a few believers at first,' Smith said, according to the Robert Sigafoos' 1983 book 'Absolutely, Positively Overnight!' chronicling FedEx's early history. 'The overwhelming body of opinion said it wouldn't work, or that we couldn't raise the money.' After FedEx's business took off in the 1980s, Smith began to wield considerable influence in both the business and political realms. He forged close ties with presidents and presidential candidates — George W. Bush and John McCain in particular — and members of U.S. Congress while advocating for minimal trade barriers, a key FedEx policy interest. 'I thought then what I still think — he is the most impressive executive I have ever met,' former FedEx Vice President and COO Jim Barksdale, who later became CEO of Netscape, said of his first impression of Smith. FedEx vision forms at young age Smith was born on Aug. 11, 1944, to Frederick Smith and Sally Wallace Smith in Marks, Mississippi. He was raised by his mother in Memphis after his father, founder and chairman of one of the largest bus lines in the South, died in 1948. As a child, Smith wore braces and used crutches due to a hip disorder. The ailment went away as he grew older, and he was an active athlete while attending the private Memphis University School, playing both basketball and football. Smith had an interest in both aviation and business at a young age. At age 15, he both learned to fly and started Ardent Record Company with two of his classmates. The label's first release broke even. Well-prepared for higher education following his graduation from Memphis University School, he attended Yale University beginning in 1962, majoring in economics and political science. In a moment immortalized in company lore, Smith's 1965 term paper at Yale outlined the basis for what would eventually become FedEx. 'In the paper, he laid out the logistical challenges facing pioneering firms in the information technology industry,' according to FedEx's company history. 'Most airfreight shippers relied on passenger route systems, but those didn't make economic sense for urgent shipments, Smith wrote. He proposed a system specifically designed to accommodate time-sensitive shipments such as medicine, computer parts, and electronics.' Smith had described his term paper as a last-minute endeavor, but felt he had the right idea in pointing out that air freight would move best in a system designed specifically for it, not as a passenger add-on. The professor gave Smith an average grade for the paper, he later recalled. It took years for Smith to revisit the idea. After graduating from Yale, he served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer from 1966 to 1970. 'A lot of Fred's ideas then, and I think now, come from his ideas in the Marines on how to manage troops and how to move things and how to get things done,' Barksdale said in 2020. In his first tour, which lasted seven months, Smith was a platoon leader and later a company commander. He returned flying planes on reconnaissance missions and was discharged in July 1969, awarded with a litany of medals, including two Purple Hearts, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. 'It's not that I'm more patriotic than anyone else, but there are 500,000 Americans over there now and there is a job that I've been asked to do,' Smith said in 1968 when asked by a Commercial Appeal reporter why he was returning for a second tour. 'I'm not being conceited, but I have had a year's experience and I know I can do it better than any new officer they might send in to replace me.' Smith jumped into the Mid-South business world after his service, buying controlling interest in the struggling Little Rock-based Arkansas Aviation Sales run by his stepfather in 1970. The funds came from his father's estate. Smith managed to turn the company around, solidifying its reputation as a timely, low-cost corporate jet equipment and maintenance center. However, he encountered challenges that would inform him of the need for express shipping. Getting urgent goods delivered quickly for the business was difficult, with air cargo transportation dependent on passenger planes focused most on moving people. He knew other businesses had the same problem. 'If a hospital in Texas needs a heart valve tomorrow,' he told Memphis Magazine in 1978, 'it needs it tomorrow.' While running Arkansas Aviation Sales, Smith's mind wandered back to his term paper. He decided an express shipping company would fulfill a need worth pursuing full-time. Federal Express was incorporated on June 24, 1971, with the 'federal' piece of the name coming partly to woo a possible customer in the Federal Reserve Bank. Amid early FedEx struggles, faith placed in Fred The FedEx idea was initially narrow, focused on transporting bundles of checks for the Federal Reserve to expedite the process for clearing checks between banks. Although a deal with the bank fell through, Smith kept the name and decided to expand upon the idea, conceptualizing an operation catered around time-sensitive shipping. Building a profitable business off the idea wouldn't be easy. Others had attempted airmail services before but came up short. The transportation network had to be sizable enough and serve enough locations to bring in enough customers, meaning significant financing needed to be brought in. Federal Express was able to secure bank loans and receive enough in investments to begin making mail runs in 1972. The next year, Smith moved the company to Memphis permanently altering the economic trajectory of the Mid-South city. 'Memphis was chosen because of its central location within the U.S. and because Memphis International Airport was rarely closed due to bad weather,' per FedEx's company history. 'The airport was also willing to make the necessary improvements for the operation and additional hangar space was readily available.' FedEx deems April 17, 1973, as Federal Express' operational birthday. Fourteen small aircraft departed Memphis and delivered 186 packages to 25 U.S. cities. A total of 389 employees had a hand in the operation. Even after the successful run on April 17 and growing package volumes after that, Federal Express still had money troubles. Federal Express' first general manager, Roger Frock, wrote in his book 'Changing How the World Does Business' that by September, the company was essentially bankrupt and should have folded. Employees were sometimes asked to defer cashing their checks for a couple of days. Michael Basch, a founding officer and former senior vice president for FedEx, said a pilot had to use his own credit card to pay for plane fuel because the company 'didn't have any money.' Smith admitted in 1974 to forging documents to guarantee a $2 million loan from Little Rock Union Bank, Frock wrote, and amid the fallout investors and lenders hired Howell Estes as Federal Express' new chairman and chief executive officer. 'While it is possible to understand that, under extreme pressure, Fred was acting to save Federal Express from almost certain bankruptcy, and even to empathize with what he did, it nevertheless appeared to be a serious breach of conduct,' Frock wrote. Smith, still president, nearly resigned from the company amid the pressure. Senior managers voiced their support for his continued involvement and threatened to resign themselves if Smith was forced to. Estes resigned instead, and Smith became chairman and leader of the company once again. 'If Fred Smith lined up all 13,000 Federal Express employees on the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis and said, 'Jump!' 99.9 percent of them would leap into the swift Mississippi River below,' Heinz Adam, the company's head of customer service said, according to "Absolutely Positively Overnight!" 'That's how much faith they've got in this guy.' Federal Express finally showed a profit in July 1975. Smith's company was primed to ascend as the standard-bearer of a unique service: rapid and reliable delivery of high-priority goods. 'We literally worked 20 hours a day, seven days a week, so it was tough,' Basch said of the early days of FedEx. 'We didn't think we were going to make it most of the time, but everybody hung in there.' Smith pushes for deregulation, global expansion Although Federal Express and Smith had a significantly more secure future, federal regulations placed a limit on how much the company could grow its express delivery operations. Most airlines had to land approval for new rates and routes from the Civil Aeronautics Board and expanding into new markets was an arduous process. Federal Express, using its small Falcon jets ferrying cargo, avoided these regulations in its early years, but the growing business wanted to fly larger aircraft and serve more markets. Smith spent time in Washington, D.C., to sway lawmakers to cut back these regulations. He directly testified before congressional committees seeking change to the law so his company wouldn't have to deal with CAB regulation. 'Our efforts down here, while they were enormously important to us, they were to some degree a sideshow to the much bigger issue that had bigger players with more of a voice than we did,' Smith said in 2014. 'But we just became a part of this conversation, more than anything else, because it was so obvious it was stupid to prevent us from doing what we were doing.' Many airlines carrying both passengers and cargo opposed Smith's proposal. Eventually, Smith won out. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Air Cargo Deregulation Act passed by Congress. Federal Express had the right to operate larger aircraft and expand its operations. Sixty-six days after deregulation, Federal Express received its first Boeing 727 cargo plane from United Airlines, Frock wrote. Smith's company was in the clear, and revenues soared after. Growth for company, Smith's influence Federal Express didn't look back. In 1983, the company reached revenues of $1 billion. It also expanded internationally throughout the decade, notably purchasing cargo airline Flying Tiger Line in 1989. The influence of Federal Express' Chairman, president and CEO grew as his company did. When Japan resisted FedEx's efforts to seek increased air rights in the country in the 1990s, Federal Express pressed the Senate to introduce a resolution — which it did — threatening sanctions against Japanese airlines. Smith also landed a 45-minute meeting with President Bill Clinton on the issue, the Wall Street Journal reported then. Japan eventually opened up for FedEx under a new treaty. Smith also enjoyed a close relationship with President George W. Bush, a fraternity brother of his at Yale. Bush's first choice for Defense Secretary after his victory in the 2000 election was Smith, but he declined for medical reasons, Bush wrote in his book 'Decision Points." Smith backed John McCain in his run for president in 2008, serving as national co-chair of his campaign committee and raising more than $100,000 for the Republican nominee. In 2018, Smith was one of the pallbearers at McCain's funeral, the BBC reported. It wasn't just Republicans who admired Smith. In 2010, President Barack Obama singled out Smith when asked by Bloomberg BusinessWeek to name a chief executive he admires. 'He's an example of somebody who is thinking long-term,' Obama said. Smith was critical of Obama's successor, Donald Trump, for his approach on global trade and use of tariffs. Still, FedEx coordinated with the Trump administration and played a key role in distributing personal protective equipment and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith made an appearance in 2020 at a roundtable with then-Vice President Mike Pence in Memphis to discuss the vaccine distribution effort. By then, public appearances were fewer and farther between for Smith, who ceded his role of FedEx president in 2018 and CEO in 2022. Smith's legacy was cemented well before then. His ambitious idea became a giant in American business, with enough gravity to influence presidents and policies while making tens of billions of dollars each year. 'I'm very focused on the here and now,' Smith told the Wall Street Journal in 2019. 'I don't care about any legacy. The legacy will be the success of the company.'
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Elon Musk on when he just wanted a job at Netscape and was rejected because …
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed he never intended to become an entrepreneur, he simply wanted a job at Netscape in 1995. Speaking at Y Combinator 's AI Startup School in San Francisco this week, the billionaire shared how Marc Andreessen's browser company ignored his application, inadvertently launching one of history's most successful entrepreneurial careers. "I sent my resume into Netscape and nobody responded," Musk told Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan during the fireside chat. "So, I'm like man, this is ridiculous, so I'll just write software myself and see how it goes." The rejection forced Musk to drop out of Stanford 's PhD program and pivot to building his own company. Despite holding physics and business degrees from Wharton and pursuing graduate studies in applied physics, his lack of computer science credentials apparently didn't impress Netscape's hiring team. From rejection to riches: The $300 million outcome by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo That "see what happens" mindset led to Zip2, Musk's first startup, which he built while sleeping in the office and showering at the YMCA. The company sold for $300 million in 1999, with Musk earning $20 million, money he immediately reinvested into his next venture, "I kept the chips on the table," Musk explained, describing his decision to risk everything on subsequent ventures rather than playing it safe. Back to the 'main quest' after political detour Now worth $366 billion according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, Musk reflected on his recent involvement with government efficiency initiatives as a "side quest." He emphasized his return to technology development as his "main quest," noting the contrast between engineering's demand for truth and politics' inherent noise. The Tesla founder, whose companies now include SpaceX (valued at $350 billion) and xAI , offered simple advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: "Try to be as useful as possible! You do whatever it takes to succeed!"
Economic Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
With Google's latest move, internet's becoming less ad-driven search, more user-paid GenAI
wwwhats-up@ As you browse the web, you must have encountered the 404 error, signifying that a web page can't be found. What you haven't seen is a similar code: 402. When Tim Berners- Lee was creating the World Wide Web, 402 was the code for 'payment required'. The original intention was that every visitor had to pay something to view a web page. But the schema was never built. So, there is no standardised encoded way to send or receive money online. In a 2019 podcast, Netscape builder Marc Andreessen explained: 'One would think the most obvious thing to do would be building in the browser the ability to actually spend money, right? You'll notice that didn't happen... we couldn't actually build economics into the core of the internet and so therefore advertising became the primary business model... We tried very hard to build payments into the browser. It was not possible... We made a huge mistake.' In 2014, internet expert Ethan Zuckerman wrote that 'advertising is the original sin of the web. The fallen state of our internet is a direct, if unintentional, consequence of choosing advertising as the default model to support online content and services.' Arguably, it's this 'original sin' that has made the largest destinations of the web the morass that it has become now. Thus, social networking has morphed into social media, as TikTok and Instagram pivoted to attention-seeking content that is optimised for views and clicks. This is also why Google's famous '10 blue links' are dominated by sponsored and advertiser preferences, rather than the succinct and accurate answer that a user wants. This drove even Berners-Lee to often regret his 'invention' and made him and others dream of a new kind of web - the concept of Web3, conceived to be 'owned' by users rather than advertisers, decentralised rather than concentrated with a handful of powerful tech companies, and, most importantly, have a different business model: that of micropayments. Thus, the user pays for the content she wants to consume, rather than advertiser paying for it, and the payment is also shared with the original the last 20 years, the company around which the existing web has revolved has been Google. While the 'advertiser pays' model was first brought in by companies like Yahoo and MSN, it was Google that perfected it as it made 'search' the way to organise the web. On the internet, if it's free, you're the product. Thus, Google and others sharply targeted and sold your attention, intentions and interest to advertisers who paid handsomely for it. How handsomely? Search contributed $54 bn of Google's $96 bn revenue in the last quarter, and reportedly most of its profitability. But it's also the model that held Google back and made it tiptoe tentatively into the world of GenAI. The search-through-chat business model of AI, which Perplexity or ChatGPT uses, does not lend itself as effectively to the advertising business model. Google experimented with 'AI Overviews' since I/O 2024. This model of AI-generated answers to common topics became popular with users, but reduced click rates on ads. This is the classical 'innovators' dilemma' that Harvard professor Clayton Christensen proposed in 1997, where he posited that great companies lose out to startup innovators, because they do not want to cannibalise their existing profitable business month, Google finally bit the bullet at I/O 2025, announcing that all its US users will be able to activate 'AI mode' in Google search and Chrome browser that will provide a conversational, question-and-answer experience akin to OpenAI's ChatGPT, rather than a traditional list of what happens to the super-profitable search business model? The company is tight-lipped about it, and is reportedly working to insert ads into AI answers. This is not as easy, however, since GenAI is a probabilistic tech, unlike the deterministic nature of traditional search. Thus, predicting what search result will come and matching advertiser needs to them becomes much more Google has hinted at a change in revenue model, with a $20 subscription for the service, and a $250 subscription for the super-premium version. So, with this monumental change, is the World Wide Web shifting on its axis? And does it take us one step closer to the dreams of a new web - user-owned, more democratic, and where you are finally not the product?Time will tell. But what is clear is that I/O 2025 did not signal just the re-emergence of Google in AI leaders, but also the emergence of a new kind of internet. So far, it was search around which the web was organised and the advertiser-driven model that paid for it. Maybe, we are now inching towards a web organised around GenAI, with subscribers paying for it - and content creators getting ably rewarded too. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Warren Buffett-fan Pabrai is betting big on Edelweiss' Rashesh Shah. Will it pay off? Coal on one hand and green on the other; this company balances both Yet another battle over neem; this time it's a startup vs. Procter & Gamble Move over tariffs, China wields rare earths in an economic war of a different kind Is Zomato under siege? Quick commerce may be the next telecom 9 stocks from different segments of financial services sector with an upside potential of up to 37% Stock picks of the week: 5 stocks with consistent score improvement and return potential of more than 32% in 1 year Is an oil shock on its way? 14 stocks to watch carefully if the Iran-Israel conflict leads to a sustained rise in crude oil prices
Associated Press
29-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Introducing Norton Neo: The Browser Ahead of You
From Netscape Navigator to Google Chrome: 30 Years of Browser Evolution Thirty years ago, Netscape went public and helped launch the internet era. Its browser, Netscape Navigator, led the way and laid the foundation for how billions of people would access the web. As the internet grew, so did the competition. Internet Explorer soon surged ahead, at one point holding over 90% of the market share and becoming the default gateway to the online world. But as applications became more dynamic and interactive (with digital platforms like Gmail, Facebook and Google Maps), IE struggled to keep up. These apps ran slowly and fell short of expectations. Then, Chrome emerged. It wasn't just incrementally better; it delivered 10 times the leap in performance for JavaScript-heavy applications. The improvement was undeniable. What seemed impossible — taking market share from IE — became inevitable, simply because Chrome made life 10 times better for the new internet experience. Fast forward to 2024, I joined Gen with a clear vision: Generative AI will redefine how consumers enter the digital world. Fittingly, my team has been working in the same office building where Netscape Navigator team made history, and it's here that we're carrying the torch to re-invent the browser for the AI era. Browsers Were Due for a Revolution. This is it. Today, we face a new, equally urgent pain point. The internet is no longer only a collection of websites. It's a fragmented universe of emails, documents, messages, meetings, tabs and cloud and web services scattered across tabs and accounts. We're drowning in information and switching contexts all day, yet struggling to get to what really matters fast. We don't need more information. We need fewer barriers. Less friction. Less cognitive overhead. More clarity. More outcomes. It's time for a new leap. Introducing Norton Neo That leap begins with Norton Neo — the world's first Safe AI-native browser. Norton Neo is built for a world where information is abundant, but focus is scarce. Where apps multiply, but time doesn't. With Neo, AI works seamlessly within your browser — no app switching, no tab overload. Just a proactive assistant powered by ChatGPT-level intelligence you can trust. Neo doesn't just respond — it anticipates. Today's launch is more than a new product. It's a statement: That the browser, one of the most-used apps on every computer — is overdue for reinvention, and that meaningful innovation can come from an S&P 500 company like Gen. Our goal here is simple: to build technology that helps people live more freely and confidently online. During this early access phase of Norton Neo, we're excited to hear what people think — your feedback will help shape what Neo becomes. We're listening, we're learning and we're focused on creating a smarter, safer digital world for everyone. This is just the beginning — not only of a new product, but a new category. Here's what you can expect with Norton Neo in the future. A New Vision for the Way We Browse 1. AI-Native: Empowering You Behind the Scenes Most AI tools today feel disjointed. You jump between apps. You paste prompts. You reword questions. Neo plans to change that. Neo will bring you the intelligence of ChatGPT — but no heavy prompts, no friction, no effort. It works in the background, offering proactive support when you need it. 2. Reinventing Search: A Browser That Connects Your Entire Digital World The traditional browser searched the public web. The new browser searches and helps manage your entire digital world. Looking for a document you saw last week? Neo retrieves it. Need a meeting summary? It's already parsed and ready to go. Why leave the tab open when your AI can remember and find everything for you? Why juggle 100 tabs like it's still the last decade? This isn't just about finding faster as Google Chrome has been doing it for more than a decade. It's about discovering smarter. Neo turns chaos into clarity by being more proactive and more personalized. 3. More Than a Browser but a Doer The next browser isn't a tool. It's a partner, an agent or a personal assistant. It can take action, finish tasks and bring you clarity. The more capable your AI, the more powerful your experience. Need to cancel a reservation, send a follow-up email or fill out a form? Neo handles it or prepares for you. From routine tasks to complex decisions, it's the browser that works with you — quietly, intelligently and safely. It's not just faster browsing; it's smarter living. 4. Built-in Protection from the Start Neo is built on Chromium, so it works with the extensions you already rely on. But what makes it different is what's built in: always-on protection, free ad blocking and trusted safe browsing — all powered by Norton's decades of security expertise. As AI becomes more powerful, trust matters more than ever for everyday people like you and me. That's why Neo brings intelligence to your browser with protection built in from the very start. Backed by a brand known for putting people first, Neo is designed to help you explore what's next with confidence. You don't have to trade intelligence for security or speed for peace of mind. With Neo, smart is secure and your protection is always on. A Paradigm Shift in the Making Just like Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome defined their generations, Norton Neo is here to define the next one. This isn't about another upgrade. This is about a complete reinvention of how you live and work online. A shift from reactive browsing to anticipatory companionship. From clutter and fragmentation to clarity and flow. From Information to Intelligence to Outcome. It's about breaking down the barriers between you and your potential. It's about trust, intelligence, simplicity — and yes, a little bit of magic. The age of reactive browsing is ending. The age of the browser ahead of you is just beginning. Learn more about the First Safe AI-native Browser here: Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Gen Digital Inc.
