OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome
is close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's market-dominating Google Chrome, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The browser is slated to launch in the coming weeks, three of the people said, and aims to use artificial intelligence to fundamentally change how consumers browse the web. It will give OpenAI more direct access to a cornerstone of Google's success: user data.
If adopted by the 400 million weekly active users of ChatGPT, OpenAI's browser could put pressure on a key component of rival Google's ad-money spigot. Chrome is an important pillar of Alphabet's ad business, which makes up nearly three-quarters of its revenue, as Chrome provides user information to help Alphabet target ads more effectively and profitably, and also gives Google a way to route search traffic to its own engine by default.
OpenAI's browser is designed to keep some user interactions within a ChatGPT-like native chat interface instead of clicking through to websites, two of the sources said.
The browser is part of a broader strategy by OpenAI to weave its services across the personal and work lives of consumers, one of the sources said.
OpenAI declined to comment.
The sources declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Led by entrepreneur Sam Altman, OpenAI upended the tech industry with the launch of its AI chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022. After its initial success, OpenAI has faced stiff competition from rivals including Google and startup Anthropic, and is looking for new areas of growth.
In May, OpenAI said it would enter the hardware domain, paying $6.5 billion to buy io, an AI devices startup from Apple's former design chief, Jony Ive.
A web browser would allow OpenAI to directly integrate its AI agent products such as Operator into the browsing experience, enabling the browser to carry out tasks on behalf of the user, the people said.
The browser's access to a user's web activity would make it the ideal platform for AI "agents" that can take actions on their behalf, like booking reservations or filling out forms, directly within the websites they use.
Tough competition
OpenAI has its work cut out - Google Chrome, which is used by more than 3 billion people, currently holds more than two-thirds of the worldwide browser market, according to web analytics firm StatCounter. Apple's second-place Safari lags far behind with a 16% share. Last month, OpenAI said it had 3 million paying business users for ChatGPT.
Other AI startups like The Browser Company and Brave have announced AI-powered browsers capable of performing actions on a user's behalf this year. Perplexity, a well-funded startup known for its search engine, also launched its AI browser, Comet, on Wednesday.
Chrome's role in providing user information to help Alphabet target ads more effectively and profitably has proven so successful that the Department of Justice has demanded its divestiture after a U.S. judge last year ruled that the Google parent holds an unlawful monopoly in online search.
OpenAI's browser is built atop Chromium, Google's own open-source browser code, two of the sources said. Chromium is the source code for Google Chrome, as well as many competing browsers including Microsoft's Edge and
Opera
.
Last year, OpenAI hired two longtime Google vice presidents who were part of the original team that developed Google Chrome. The Information was first to report their hires and that OpenAI previously considered building a browser.
An OpenAI executive testified in April that the company would be interested in buying Chrome if antitrust enforcers succeeded in forcing the sale.
Google has not offered Chrome for sale. The company has said it plans to appeal the ruling that it holds a monopoly.
OpenAI decided to build its own browser, rather than simply a "plug-in" on top of another company's browser, in order to have more control over the data it can collect, one source said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
43 minutes ago
- Mint
Study describes robot operating on gall bladder autonomously, milestone in use of AI in clinical setting
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Researchers have documented a fully autonomous surgery performed by a robot on gall bladders made of human tissue with 100 per cent accuracy, which they said marked a milestone in deploying these systems in a clinical setting. In a paper published in the journal 'Science Robotics', the team, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US, said the robot 'SRT-H' was trained on the videos of surgeons operating on dead pigs. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that systems such as ChatGPT function on, the 'Surgical Robot Transformer-Hierarchy', or SRT-H, also responded to and learned from voice commands from the team while performing the operation -- like a novice surgeon working with a mentor, they added. "This advancement moves us from robots that can execute specific surgical tasks to robots that truly understand surgical procedures," author and medical roboticist Axel Krieger from Johns Hopkins University said. "This is a critical distinction that brings us significantly closer to clinically viable autonomous surgical systems that can work in the messy, unpredictable reality of actual patient care," Krieger said. The team had previously documented a laparoscopic surgery performed by a robot on a pig -- the first autonomous one on a live animal, they said. However, the robot had required a tissue that was specially marked for surgical intervention, worked in a highly controlled environment and followed a rigid, predetermined surgical plan. The SRT-H robot truly performs surgery, adapting to individual anatomical features in real-time, making decisions on the fly, and self-correcting when things don't go as expected, the researchers said. They wrote, "We propose a hierarchical framework for performing dexterous, long-horizon surgical steps. "Our method achieves a 100 per cent success rate across eight different ex vivo gallbladders, operating fully autonomously without human intervention." The work marks a "milestone towards clinical deployment of autonomous surgical systems," they wrote. They added that while the robot took longer to operate as compared to a human surgeon, results were comparable to an expert surgeon. Lead author Ji Woong Kim, a former postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said, "This work represents a major leap from prior efforts because it tackles some of the fundamental barriers to deploying autonomous surgical robots in the real world." "Our work shows that AI models can be made reliable enough for surgical autonomy -- something that once felt far-off but is now demonstrably viable," Kim said.
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
AIC‑BIMTECH hosts over 150 startups at ‘Google AI Day for Startups' event
Live Events Atal Incubation Centre, BIMTECH (Birla Institute of Management Technology (AIC‑BIMTECH) hosted the Google AI Day for Startups , a flagship event under the India-wide initiative by Google for Startups . Held at the BIMTECH campus in Greater Noida, the event was designed to empower early-stage founders through power-packed knowledge-sharing sessions for startups from investment to immersive sessions on Generative AI , expert panels, hands-on learning, and meaningful networking, covering more than 150 startups from across AI Day for Startups is a multi-format, full-day workshop series organized by Google for Startups in collaboration with ecosystem partners across India. These events aimed to equip early-stage founders with the knowledge, technical expertise, and networks required to build with Generative AI and scale their solutions event featured keynotes and panels by Google AI experts, VCs, and founders, offering insights into key Generative AI trends such as AI agents, multimodal systems, and commercialization, with a focus on scaling real-world solutions. The day commenced with a high-impact panel discussion titled 'AI's Next Wave: Agents, Multimodal, and Monetization,' featuring prominent industry leaders including Mr. Alok Shankar Pandey, Group General Manager, DFCCIL; Amit Singal, Partner, Fluid Ventures; and Noor Fatma, Founder, Easiofy. The panel, moderated by Mahesh Prajapati (Founder - stressed the role of India's startups in driving AI-led innovation for the next billion Rajib, Director, BIMTECH, said: 'Hosting Google AI Day at our campus reflects BIMTECH's commitment to fostering innovation and driving meaningful engagement with the startup ecosystem. We are proud to facilitate the innovators through AIC BIMTECH's Kant, CEO of AIC-BIMTECH, said: 'Startups are the backbone of our nation. I've been engaged with the Google team since 2023, and it's an honor for AIC-BIMTECH to host this event. It perfectly aligns with our mission to empower AI and emerging tech startups, contributing meaningfully to the vision of Viksit a Strategic Impact, Enisha Kalita, Program Manager, Google, introduced the Google for Startups programs, covering all initiatives to the startups that help early-stage ventures with mentorship, cloud credits, and go-to-market strategy. The event encouraged meaningful conversations, idea validation, and opened doors for future investment by showcasing how AI can be rapidly prototyped into impactful solutions by startups. Over 150 startup founders, developers, investors, and Google engineers came together for a hands-on day of AI exploration and collaboration. Startups dove into codelabs and live demos, working with advanced tools like Gemini 2.5, Gemma 3.0, Vertex AI, and AI Studio to bring real-world ideas to life.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Fi Money shuts down some features, trims workforce to stay afloat
MUMBAI : Neobanking startup Fi Money, backed by investors such as Temasek and Peak XV Partners, has laid off people and shut down some features to stay afloat, three people close to the development told Mint. The company is facing severe runway issues and struggling to secure capital from existing and new investors due to poor financial performance, said two of the three people, adding workforce reductions are among the many steps the startup has taken to cut costs. 'While the company has been in the market to raise capital for some time now, some existing investors have written off their investment in Fi Money," said the third person, on the condition of anonymity. To be sure, the company hasn't filed its 2023-24 financials, and it could still be a while before it does so, said the three people. Fi Money, on the other hand, said it had shared audited financials with relevant stakeholders, but hadn't made them public yet. In 2023, the Bengaluru-based fintech laid off around 10% of its staff in an effort to extend its cash runway to two years amid a worsening funding winter, according to a Moneycontrol report. It had around 300 people on its payroll at the time. Founded in 2019 by Sujith Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani, it has raised close to $150 million from investors, including Alpha Wave Global, Temasek, Quiet Capital, QCM, B Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Peak XV Partners, over the last six years. It was last valued at $524 million in July 2022 during its $71 million Series C round, showed data from market intelligence firm Tracxn Technologies. Epifi Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Fi's parent, reported ₹38 crore in revenue from operations in 2022-23, up from ₹17.5 crore a year ago. Its expenses zoomed to ₹365.7 crore from ₹272 crore in 2021-22. The loss stood at ₹301.8 crore as compared to ₹249.8 crore a year ago, Tracxn data showed. 'Strategic choices" A Fi Money spokesperson confirmed that the startup had been making 'strategic choices to strengthen its foundation and the future" for the past few quarters. "We've streamlined operations, prioritized key products, ensuring every initiative is aligned with long-term user value and business sustainability," the spokesperson said. 'We've phased out a few features that didn't meet our benchmarks for engagement or monetization. These decisions were rooted in data and user insights, reflecting our sharper focus on building a more sustainable and relevant product experience," the spokesperson added. Fi Money claimed that it was adequately capitalized and operationally agile to deliver innovation across banking, lending, and wealth management. 'Like any ambitious startup, we make multiple bets, some of which work better than others, but we've always operated with a learning mindset." Earlier this week, it launched a new feature that allows users to securely connect their financial data to AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. The neobank offers its products to over 3.5 million users across 19,000 pin codes in India. Some of its offerings include a zero-forex international debit card, AI-powered money insights, goal-based saving tools, mutual funds, US stock investments, instant loans, credit cards, and more. It competes with other neobanks such as Jupiter and Niyo. Industry-wide churn Mint reported on 11 March that Jupiter (Amica Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd), which is in early-stage discussions to raise $30-50 million from existing investors, has also seen several top-level exits during its cost-cutting and restructuring exercise to reduce customer acquisition costs. Niyo (Finnew Solutions Pvt. Ltd) has also witnessed a significant churn. Its chief strategy officer stepped down in April even as the digital-only bank navigates a slowdown in revenue, delays plan for an initial public offering, and a rise in pressure to deliver profitability, Mint reported on 9 April. Neobanks offer banking services in partnership with traditional banks.
