Chrome browser could be up for sale for up to $20 billion

Alphabet Inc. could be forced to sell its Chrome browser for as much as $20 billion if a judge approves a Justice Department proposal, marking a historic shift in the control of the world’s largest technology companies.

The US Justice Department will ask the judge who ruled in August 2024 that Google had illegally monopolized the search engine market to take measures related to artificial intelligence (AI) and the Android operating system.

Antitrust officials along with the states involved in the lawsuit also plan to ask federal judge Amit Mehta to impose data licensing requirements.

If approved, these proposals could reshape the online search market and the burgeoning field of AI.

The lawsuit, initiated under the Donald Trump administration and continued under President Joe Biden, marks the most aggressive effort to rein in a tech company since the U.S. failed to break up Microsoft Corp. 20 years ago.

Owning the world's most popular web browser is key to Google's advertising business, allowing it to track the activity of logged-in users and use that data to better target ads — Google's main source of revenue.

Google is also using the Chrome browser to direct users to its Gemini AI product, which has the potential to evolve from a question-answering chatbot into an assistant that follows users around the web.

If the sale goes through, Chrome would be worth “at least $15 billion to $20 billion, with more than 3 billion monthly active users,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh. The price a potential buyer would be willing to pay could depend on the ability to tie the Chrome browser to other services.

The Chrome browser doesn't directly generate revenue, but it acts as a gateway to other things, said analyst Bob O'Donnell of TECHnalysis Research.

Google strongly objected to the proposal. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of legal affairs, said the DOJ "continues to push a negative agenda that goes beyond the legal issues at this event."

She added that government intervention in these ways would harm consumers, developers and America's technological leadership.

Antitrust regulators want a judge to rule on Google selling Chrome because it is the most widely used browser in the world, representing a key entry point for many people to access Google's search engine. Chrome controls about 61% of the market share in the United States, according to the web traffic analytics site StatCounter.

Finding potential buyers for Chrome is also a challenge, said Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, an advertising and digital media analyst at Emarketer. Companies with the financial wherewithal and interest in Chrome, such as Amazon.com Inc., also face antitrust scrutiny, which could prevent such a large deal. Merging with a U.S.-based AI company could more easily pass government scrutiny than with another tech giant.

The lawsuit and subsequent proposals will continue to be closely watched, promising significant changes in the fiercely competitive landscape of the global technology market.