Latest news with #Shevelenko
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Perplexity Would Also Consider Buying Google's Chrome, Raises Concerns About OpenAI's Bid
On the second day of Google's landmark antitrust search trial, AI startup Perplexity told the court it would consider buying Chrome-but would rather Google retain the open-source browser over seeing it fall into the hands of a company like OpenAI. Although it's unclear how Perplexity would be able to afford the browser. When asked whether Perplexity believes any company other than Google could run Chrome at scale-without sacrificing quality or charging people, Perplexity's chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko said "I think we could do it."Shevelenko raised red flags about the future of Chromium, Google's open-source browser base, if OpenAI were to snap up Chrome in a court-ordered divestiture, (OpenAI exec Nick Turnely, who testified earlier in the week, said the company would be interested in Chrome in the event of a spin off). In the event of a forced sell off, Perplexity is working on its own workaround. The company plans to launch Comet, a Chromium-based browser it's building in-house. Shevelenko said that Google makes strong products that others can iterate on, and Perplexity doesn't want a remedy that "cripples Google's ability to keep doing that." However, he also didn't hold back on sharing his complaints of the tech giant having exclusive agreements with mobile carriers. "There's all the self-serving incentive to be here today and shout about how evil Google is, and I think we want to be reasonable," Shevelenko said, per The Verge. DOJ Accuses Google of Using Search Monopoly Tactics To Push AI Product Gemini This isn't the first time Perplexity has thrown its hat in the ring for a big tech castoff. The AI startup has also floated the idea of buying TikTok, the social giant currently staring down a potential U.S. ban over its ties to China-based ByteDance. Perplexity isn't just worrying about Chrome. Shevelenko testified that Google's ironclad distribution deals with phone makers and carriers have boxed his company out of similar partnerships. Meanwhile, The Justice Department is urging the court to unwind those deals as part of its remedies to break up Google's illegal search monopoly. Perplexity's Next Bet? An AI-Driven Browser Called Comet Shevelenko-who had initially hesitated to testify due to concerns about potential repercussions from Google-didn't shy away from detailing his complaints. He walked the court through the cumbersome process of setting Perplexity as the default AI assistant on Android, admitting he even needed help from a colleague. He added that even after completing the process, Perplexity's assistant still doesn't operate on equal footing with Google's-requiring people to manually activate it, per The Verge. Shevelenko also said that Perplexity had engaged with a list of anonymized phone makers in an attempt to strike a deal to have its AI search preloaded as the default in the U.S. However, he said, the company was unable to reach any agreements. The phone makers, he explained, were wary of jeopardizing their share of Google's revenue by breaking existing deals. Apple's Search Deal Is Critical to Google. The Courts May Rule It Illegal
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Perplexity says it would buy Chrome if Google is forced to divest over antitrust ruling
AI-driven search startup Perplexity is prepared to buy Chrome from Google if the search giant is forced to sell it by a US federal court. The Amazon-backed startup's chief business officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, testified in court that Perplexity could take on the project of running Chrome without diminishing its quality or charging for it. The testimony was made in the remedy hearing related to Google Search's illegal monopoly, where Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia is considering whether the tech giant's search business should be broken up. Perplexity's Shevelenko was reportedly subpoenaed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to testify in court so that the DOJ could demonstrate the impact of Google's illegal search monopoly on AI companies. Laying out his grievances against Google, Shevelenko spoke about how Android users had to navigate a 'jungle gym' of settings to make Perplexity the default AI assistant on their devices. Even after making it the default, Perplexity's assistant still cannot be activated by using a wake word like 'Hey, Google' and instead, requires users to press a button to activate it. He also testified that making deals with phone makers to have its AI assistant pre-installed was incredibly difficult because those companies were under contract with Google and essentially had a 'gun to [their] head', according to a report by The Verge. He said Perplexity had failed to ink a deal with any smartphone brand because they feared Google could turn off their significant revenue share if they did something the tech giant disliked. On Monday, April 21, Peter Fitzgerald, Google's vice president of platforms and device partnerships, testified that the Alphabet-owned company is paying 'enormous sums of money' to Samsung in order for its Gemini AI app to be pre-installed on devices manufactured by the South Korean electronics giant. Recently, Bloomberg reported that Perplexity had reached an agreement with Motorola to make its AI assistant default over Google's Gemini. Without naming Motorola, Shevelenko said the smartphone maker would not make it the default assistant 'despite both parties wanting it to be' as they couldn't find a way to 'get out of their Google obligations'. He also questioned whether other AI companies such as OpenAI are capable of buying Chrome and ensure that it stays an open source model while continuing to adequately support the browser. 'There's all the self-serving incentive to be here today and shout about how evil Google is, and I think we want to be reasonable. Google builds good products that others are able to iterate on. 'We wouldn't want a remedy that cripples Google's ability to keep doing that,' Shevelenko said. In a landmark antitrust ruling last year, Judge Amit Mehta held that Google had an illegal monopoly of the search engine market and abused its monopoly position by using exclusionary agreements with phone and browser companies to lock up distribution channels. If Judge Mehta rules in favour of the DOJ in the ongoing remedy hearing, it could mean that Google is forced to sell off its popular Chrome web browser as well as the free open-source Chromium browser that many other web browsers are built on.
The Star
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Google blocked Motorola use of Perplexity AI, witness testifies
Shevelenko said on April 23 that the company's efforts to obtain preferential distribution on smartphones from manufacturers and wireless carriers was because of Google contracts, which he said are like a 'gun to your head' for a company. — Bloomberg Google's contract with Lenovo Group Ltd's Motorola blocked the smartphone maker from setting Perplexity AI as the default assistant on its new devices, an executive of the startup testified at the search giant's antitrust trial. Perplexity's chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko said on April 23 that the company's efforts to obtain preferential distribution on smartphones from manufacturers and wireless carriers was because of Google contracts, which he said are like a "gun to your head' for a company. His testimony came in the Justice Department's case against Alphabet Inc's Google to determine remedies after it was found to have an illegal monopoly in search. Perplexity's AI app won't be the default AI assistant "despite both parties wanting it to be', Shevelenko told Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the case. Motorola "can't get out of their Google obligations and so they are unable to change the default assistant on the device'. Instead, Perplexity's app will come preloaded on new devices, but not appear on the home screen that a user first sees when logging in, he said. Perplexity has one signed agreement to have its AI assistant be pre-installed on a company's devices and is currently negotiating another, Shevelenko said, without naming the companies at issue. A Google executive testified earlier in the week that Motorola will add Perplexity to its phones later this year. Bloomberg also previously reported that the AI startup is in talks with Samsung Electronics Co. Last year, Mehta found that Google illegally monopolised the search market through payments to smartphone makers, wireless carriers and browsers to ensure its search engine is the default on their products. The US Justice Department has asked Mehta to ban Google from paying for search engine defaults and he is holding a three-week hearing to determine how to resolve the company's illegal acts. That proposed ban would also apply to Google's AI products, including Gemini, which the agency says were aided by the company's illegal monopoly in search. Shevelenko said he spends 75% of his time working to reach partnerships with carriers and phonemakers to distribute the company's app because it's like a "jungle gym' to try and change the default on an Android phone from Google's Gemini to Perplexity. He estimated it took him 10 to 15 minutes to do it himself and he required assistance from one of the company's IT people. Phonemakers "and carriers should be liberated from these restrictions and the threat of revenue loss', Shevelenko said. Google's contracts are like a "gun to your head and if you do anything they don't like, they can cut off a material source of revenue'. Shevelenko said that none of its partnerships would have materialised if not for the Justice Department's antitrust suit against Google. It's because Google is "under pressure' that phonemakers "carriers and browsers are OK having some of the dialogues they are having', he said. – Bloomberg
Mint
24-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Google Blocked Motorola Use of Perplexity AI, Witness Says
(Bloomberg) -- Google's contract with Lenovo Group Ltd.'s Motorola blocked the smartphone maker from setting Perplexity AI as the default assistant on its new devices, an executive of the startup testified at the search giant's antitrust trial. Perplexity's Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko said Wednesday that the company's efforts to obtain preferential distribution on smartphones from manufacturers and wireless carriers were because of Google contracts, which he said are like a 'gun to your head' for a company. His testimony came at a hearing to determine a remedy in the Justice Department's lawsuit against Google after the Alphabet Inc. unit it was found to have an illegal monopoly in search. Perplexity's AI app won't be the default AI assistant 'despite both parties wanting it to be,' Shevelenko told Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the case. Motorola 'can't get out of their Google obligations and so they are unable to change the default assistant on the device.' Instead, Perplexity's app will come preloaded on new devices, but not appear on the home screen that a user first sees when logging in, he said. Perplexity has one signed agreement to have its AI assistant be pre-installed on a company's devices and is currently negotiating another, Shevelenko said, without naming the companies at issue. A Google executive testified earlier in the week that Motorola will add Perplexity to its phones later this year. Bloomberg also previously reported that the AI startup is in talks with Samsung Electronics Co. Last year, Mehta found that Google illegally monopolized the search market through payments to smartphone makers, wireless carriers and browsers to ensure its search engine is the default on their products. The Justice Department has asked Mehta to ban Google from paying for search engine defaults and he is holding a three-week hearing to determine how to resolve the company's illegal acts. That proposed ban would also apply to Google's AI products, including Gemini, which the agency says were aided by the company's illegal monopoly in search. The DOJ and a group of US states have argued that Google should be forced to sell off its popular Chrome web browser. Shevelenko said he spends 75% of his time working to reach partnerships with carriers and phonemakers to distribute the company's app because it's like a 'jungle gym' to try and change the default on an Android phone from Google's Gemini to Perplexity. He estimated it took him 10 to 15 minutes to do it himself and he required assistance from one of the company's IT people. Phonemakers 'and carriers should be liberated from these restrictions and the threat of revenue loss,' Shevelenko said. Google's contracts are like a 'gun to your head and if you do anything they don't like, they can cut off a material source of revenue.' Shevelenko said that none of its partnerships would have materialized if not for the Justice Department's antitrust suit against Google. It's because Google is 'under pressure' that phonemakers 'carriers and browsers are OK having some of the dialogues they are having,' he said. Perplexity wouldn't want OpenAI to buy Google's Chrome browser, Shevelenko said, because the ChatGPT-maker previously pledged support for open source and reversed its stance. Perplexity is working on its own browser, Comet, based on Chromium, Google's open-source version of Chrome, and hopes that any sale will ensure the open-source version remains supported, he said. OpenAI's head of ChatGPT testified earlier in the trial that the company would be interested in buying Chrome. Earlier Wednesday, Sissie Hsiao, Google's former head of Gemini, said she had never seen a more competitive environment than the current one for AI products. Companies are frequently releasing new models with new features, with new innovations every few months. 'There's constant competition,' said Hsiao, who joined Google in 2006 from Microsoft Corp. (Updates with additional details beginning in 12th paragraph.) More stories like this are available on First Published: 24 Apr 2025, 02:10 PM IST
