In the wake of Google’s latest lawsuit loss, there’s a growing chance that the company could be forced to divest its popular internet browser Chrome. If that comes to pass, one notable buyer is already throwing its hat into the ring to buy Chrome: OpenAI.
According to Bloomberg, ChatGPT’s head of product, Nick Turley, told a judge this Tuesday that OpenAI would be interested in purchasing Chrome if Google were forced to sell.
“Yes, we would, as would many other parties,” Turley said when asked if OpenAI would ponder buying Chrome. He added that if OpenAI is able to integrate ChatGPT directly into Chrome, the company would be able to “offer a really incredible experience” and would also “have the ability to introduce users into what an AI first experience looks like.”
During his court appearance, Turley said that OpenAI attempted to work with Google in the past to use the company’s search technology, but nothing ever came of those talks. Turley confirmed that OpenAI has “no partnership with Google today.”
Whether or not Google is forced to divest Chrome, spin off Android into its own company, or end exclusivity agreements with other technology companies remains to be seen. That said, it’s clear that a commodity as hot as Google’s Chrome browser—with nearly 4 billion users worldwide and a 66% market share—would draw plenty of interest.
Meanwhile, Google is going to do everything in its power to stay intact.
Here’s what Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s VP of regulatory affairs, said in a blog post about the case last weekend: “The US Department of Justice’s 2020 search distribution lawsuit is a backwards-looking case at a time of intense competition and unprecedented innovation. With new services like ChatGPT (and foreign competitors like DeepSeek) thriving, DOJ’s sweeping remedy proposals are both unnecessary and harmful.”
