Yahoo wants to buy Chrome
Legacy search brand Yahoo has been working on its own web browser prototype, and says it would like to buy Google’s Chrome if the company is forced by a court to sell it.
The information came out during the fourth day of the Justice Department’s remedies trial to rectify Google’s search monopoly. The DOJ has — among other proposals — requested Judge Amit Mehta break up Google by requiring it sell its Chrome browser, which the agency says is a key distribution channel for its popular search engine that’s amassed too much power for anyone else to compete. Yahoo isn’t the only company interested in buying Chrome. While DuckDuckGo’s CEO said they wouldn’t be able to afford it, witnesses from Perplexity and OpenAI both expressed interest in the popular browser on the stand this week.
Witnesses from Perplexity and OpenAI both expressed interest in Chrome
Yahoo seems to agree that owning a web browser is a very important portal for search, and is looking to run its own, either through developing or buying one. Yahoo Search General Manager Brian Provost testified that about 60% of search queries are done through a web browser; many people search directly from the address bar. That’s why, Provost testified, since last summer Yahoo has been “actively internally developing a prototype of a browser” to understand what it would need to do to put one out in the market. He added that Yahoo is in “ongoing” discussions with other companies about buying a browser, though he would not publicly state which ones it’s in talks with.
For Yahoo, prototyping its own browser will take six to nine months, Provost estimated. Acquiring Chrome would likely be a much faster way to ramp up to scale. Provost called Chrome “arguably the most important strategic player on the web,” and estimated Yahoo’s search market share could jump from 3 percent to double digits if it were able to buy the browser. He estimated the deal would cost tens of billions of dollars, and said Yahoo would be able to secure that funding with the backing of its owner, Apollo Global Management. Apollo actually owns a browser brand that was at the center of a different antitrust case, but Provost said he wouldn’t consider it an active browser. The brand’s name? NetScape.
Legacy search brand Yahoo has been working on its own web browser prototype, and says it would like to buy Google’s Chrome if the company is forced by a court to sell it. The information came out during the fourth day of the Justice Department’s remedies trial to rectify Google’s…
Recent Posts
- 30% Off Canon Promo Codes | June 2026
- Steam Machine and Steam Frame are coming ‘this summer’
- Valve says it’s ready to launch the Steam Machine this summer
- Best Buy slashes up to $400 off Apple tech in a limited-time sale — get AirPods, MacBooks, iPads and Apple Watches from $99.99
- The Instagram Plus subscription has officially launched
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023