OpenAI could buy Google Chrome, says Sam Altman — but only if this happens
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has confirmed that the AI startup is interested in buying Google Chrome if Google is forced to sell its browser by the US government. The confirmation from Altman came just days after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that Perplexity AI had reportedly offered $34.5 billion in cash to acquire Chrome from Alphabet.
Notably, Google lost an antitrust trial in the United States last year, where the judge ruled that the tech giant had illegally monopolized the online search market. As part of the remedial measures, the Department of Justice has suggested that Chrome be sold to an independent entity to level the playing field.
Speaking to reporters, Sam Altman said (as quoted by TechCrunch), “If Chrome is really going to sell, we should take a look at it.”
“Is it actually going to sell? I assumed it wasn’t gonna happen,” the OpenAI CEO added.
Meanwhile, there have been reports that OpenAI is building its own AI browser, and Altman confirmed that the recent addition of its CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, means the company is working on many consumer applications outside of ChatGPT.
Sam Altman wants to create an AI-powered social media app:
Altman also stated that OpenAI is interested in exploring a new social media platform, saying there is “nothing” inspiring to him about the way AI is used on social media today, TechCrunch reported. He said OpenAI is interested in “whether or not it is possible to build a much cooler kind of social experience with AI.”
The OpenAI CEO also confirmed that the company would be backing a neural interface startup called Merge Labs to compete with Elon Musk’s Neuralink.
“I think neural interfaces are cool ideas to explore. I would like to be able to think something and have ChatGPT respond to it,” he added.
Notably, tensions have flared up between Musk and Altman over alleged Apple bias over App Store. While Musk accused the iPhone maker of being biased towards ChatGPT and not featuring his Grok AI application in any of its rankings, Altman took a dig at the billionaire over X’s own policies of amplifying Musks’ tweets to all users.
