Google’s Chrome browser could be sold for up to $50 billion, browser rival DuckDuck CEO Gabriel Weinberg testified at a Department of Justice hearing on how to remedy Google’s search monopoly. He added that it was “out of DuckDuckGo’s price range.” That’s much higher than the $20 billion Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh estimated last November, and Weinberg said the calculation is based on “back-of-the-envelope” math. But it doesn’t seem that expensive when you realize that Google Search, which is highly integrated with the Chrome browser, brought in more than that much in revenue, $54 billion, last quarter alone.
As we’ve written before, experts have said that forcing Google’s parent company Alphabet to offload Chrome is unlikely to happen, noting that asking it to do so is more of a negotiating tactic than a likely remedy. Even if the court decides Google has to sell Chrome, it’s unclear who could afford it. The judge is expected to decide on remedies in August.