The DOJ Goes After Google Chrome | Bloomberg Technology

DOJ Considers Forcing Google to Sell Chrome

• The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering asking a judge to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser as a remedy for the company's alleged monopolization of the global search market, which was ruled by a Washington judge in August (2m7s).
• Other measures being considered by the DOJ include requiring Google to license its search results and data, and giving websites the option to opt out of having their content used to help Google build its artificial intelligence platforms (2m36s).
• Google's parent company, Alphabet, has spoken out against these measures, calling them "radical steps" being taken by the US government (2m52s).
• The intricacies around selling data and sharing data are complex, and many in the market believe that enforcing these remedies will take years, with an appeals process likely to follow (3m14s).
• A two-week hearing is set for April to discuss potential remedies, and the judge is not expected to rule until August 2025, with an appeals process to follow, potentially all the way to the US Supreme Court (3m38s).
• Google's Chrome browser has about 60% of the market, and the company's ability to collect data from users is a major part of its business model, which would be impacted by any remedies imposed by the court (4m33s).
• The case has significant implications for Google's business, and the company is likely to take any appeal all the way to the US Supreme Court (4m21s).

Potential Implications and Buyers of Chrome

• The US Department of Justice is taking action against Google Chrome, which could potentially lead to a significant business model change, with some wondering who would buy Chrome if it was forced to be sold (4m38s).
• The price of buying Chrome would likely be very high, making it difficult for many potential buyers, although companies like Amazon.com or OpenAI might have the resources to make a purchase, which could raise separate antitrust questions (4m51s).
• Chrome is essential to Alphabet's business, as the company uses the data from Chrome to target users better and to develop its Gemini AI platform (5m17s).
• Alphabet's recent results highlighted the importance of search in driving its bet on AI, and the company would like to keep this going if possible (5m32s).

Ongoing Government Case Against Google

• The government's case against Google is ongoing, with a decision on remedies expected in August 2025, and Google has the opportunity to submit its proposed remedies by December 20 (6m52s).
• The case is unlikely to result in Chrome being sold off, as the unchallenged conduct in the decision was the search bar in the Chrome window, which was not challenged at trial (6m12s).
• Other changes could be made to address the idea that Google is monopolistic in search, such as changes to the contracts with OEM providers, but the market is dynamic and changing, with AI search windows and other browsers available (7m35s).
• Forcing Google to license its data could affect the rest of the market, not just Google, and would be a difficult process to work through, potentially taking years (8m27s).
• The market is not currently freaking out about the situation, but there is a cloud over Google for the next few years, or even decade, as the case is ongoing and the outcome is uncertain (9m9s).
• The Trump administration initially brought a suit against Google, and despite changes in administration, the case has continued, with murmurs of the next administration wanting to continue activity, although they seem more pro-innovation and technology (9m30s).

Google, Microsoft, and AI Developments

• Google's partnership with Anthropic has avoided efforts to qualify under merger rules in the UK, with Google not gaining "much of real influence" over Anthropic, which includes a $2 billion investment and a cloud agreement (10m23s).
• Microsoft has unveiled a new tool called Azure AI Foundry, which aims to make it easier for cloud customers to build and deploy AI applications by allowing them to switch between large language models (11m5s).
• The tool is meant to make it easier for users to get their models programmed, up and running, and deployed, with Microsoft offering 1700-1800 different models through this service (11m39s).
• Azure AI Foundry includes tools that allow users to experiment with different models, see which one works better, switch more easily, and track what is working and what isn't (12m12s).
• Microsoft is giving away the software in the hopes of persuading corporate customers to buy more of its cloud services, as the company is investing heavily in chips and wants to make it easier for customers to use its services (11m14s).
• Microsoft has announced two new chips, one for security and one for networking, which will be used in its own data centers to secure them and make things faster (13m2s).
• The company is increasingly getting into the position of designing its own chips for its data centers, similar to Amazon Web Services, in order to improve its ability to train AI, serve applications, and other tasks (13m22s).
• Microsoft still works closely with NVIDIA, but is moving some AI traffic onto its own chips, although it will take a long time for Azure to be able to replace NVIDIA in its data center (13m46s).
• Credo AI is partnering with Microsoft Azure AI Foundry to provide end-to-end governance of Azure AI apps, including generative AI and multimodal assistance, as well as unified control for developers and governance leaders, and support for governing cutting-edge systems like GPT4 (14m59s).
• The partnership aims to bridge the gap between AI solutions and practical business applications, and to accelerate the adoption of AI innovations through AI governance (14m46s).
• Credo AI's technology enables businesses to monitor AI systems consistently, ensuring they are doing what they are supposed to do, with fair use cases and no bias, through a process called AI alignment (16m6s).
• AI alignment involves measuring the health of AI systems against policies, principles, regulations, and AI standards, and making sure they are in alignment with business requirements (16m13s).
• Credo AI's solution makes it easy for business experts and AI experts to align on what AI alignment looks like, and to measure AI systems, models, and data sets against those requirements (16m31s).
• The solution also includes a continuous monitoring, risk management, and compliance engine to ensure AI systems are always in alignment (16m49s).
• More than 70% of organizations do not have guardrails in place for the use of AI agents, and Credo AI's solutions become critical in providing a safety net for AI innovations (17m35s).
• When organizations have clearly defined guardrails, employees are more excited to use AI technologies at scale, and governance is critical for the adoption of AI and transformation within organizations (18m3s).
• AI is central to the strategy of the US administration, and regulatory governance and outlook are not expected to change significantly under the next administration (18m28s).
• The US is looking to use AI to transform government and maintain competitiveness in the world, with more information to come on this topic (18m45s).

Supermicro's Auditor and Compliance

• Supermicro has hired a new auditor, BDO, after their previous auditor resigned, and has filed a plan to come into compliance, resulting in a 33% jump in their shares (19m33s).
• Supermicro had missed a deadline to file financials in August, leading to their previous auditor's resignation, and had to find a new auditor to avoid delisting (20m4s).
• BDO is a major auditor, but not one of the big four, and will help Supermicro get back into compliance, buying them a couple more months before another deadline (20m27s).
• The document deadline for Supermicro is likely to be pushed to February, and if they are delisted, liquidity will be far more difficult, and they may have to repay some of their bonds early (20m48s).
• Supermicro still faces a DOJ probe, despite the positive news of hiring a new auditor (21m47s).

Roblox's Child Safety Measures

• Roblox has announced more protections to its platform for its youngest users, with a focus on child safety online, particularly in the gaming world (24m9s).
• Apple is offering Indonesia $100 million in investment in an attempt to lift a sales ban on the iPhone 16, an increase from their prior offer of $10 million (23m31s).
• Sony is exploring a takeover of a publisher, maker of the hit game "Elden Ring", which would give them access to their expensive catalog (23m55s).
• Roblox has introduced new parental controls, restrictions on communication, and clearer content labels to improve child safety on the platform, following increasing scrutiny over alleged child abuse using the service (24m15s).
• The new parental controls allow parents to monitor and manage their kids' accounts even when not sitting next to them, and the platform has also restricted how users under 13 can communicate on the platform (24m42s).
• Roblox uses a multilayered approach to keep users safe, including AI systems that monitor communication and a team of safety professionals who train the AI, handle appeals, and investigate complicated cases (27m2s).
• The platform's AI technology is advancing rapidly, with significant leaps in automated moderation systems for voice communication, and Roblox has open-sourced some of the models behind this technology (26m26s).
• The team of safety professionals is responsible for training the AI, handling appeals, and investigating complicated cases, and the team of investigators works with law enforcement partners to keep the platform safe (27m15s).
• Roblox is working to innovate in protecting users from predators who may not be who they say they are, but the details of these efforts are not specified in the conversation (28m5s).
• The platform's approach to verifying the age of users under 13 involves asking for additional information due to privacy reasons, but the exact methods used to verify this information are not specified (25m18s).
• Roblox's machine learning and AI systems are designed to detect and prevent grooming and other forms of abuse, but the subtleties of these behaviors can be challenging to pick up on (26m23s).
• Roblox has nearly 90 million users from 190 countries around the world, and the platform is a significant part of their lives, with a small number of bad actors that the company tries to address quickly (28m13s).
• Roblox has systems in place to automatically detect behavioral anomalies and review every piece of content uploaded to the platform before it is visible to users (28m29s).
• The company also blocks and filters communication on the platform if it violates their policies, and they have made changes to limit exposure to certain content for their youngest audiences (28m54s).
• Matt, a representative from Roblox, stated that safety is the company's number one priority, and they have made 30 major updates to their safety systems this year alone (29m34s).
• Roblox's approach to safety involves innovating and constantly updating their systems to address bad actors, and they have a proactive stance on keeping users safe on the platform (29m38s).
• The company acknowledges that growth and safety can sometimes be at odds, but they prioritize safety and are willing to slow down sign-ups if necessary to ensure user safety (30m21s).
• Matt emphasized that protecting users on the platform has been Roblox's first priority since its foundation nearly 20 years ago, and it is good for their business, growth, and users (30m31s).
• Roblox builds safety into their features from the beginning, rather than waiting until the end to address potential issues, and they work with feature teams to identify and address risks associated with new features (31m0s).
• The company believes that they need to take a proactive stance in keeping users safe, while also providing systems and controls for parents, but they assume that parents are not always involved or in the room (31m35s).
• Matt thinks that companies need to take responsibility for keeping their users safe, while also providing insights and controls to parents, and that the balance lies in companies being proactive while also empowering parents (31m42s).
• Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman emphasizes the importance of keeping users safe on the platform, acknowledging that other platforms may not operate at the same standards, and highlighting the efforts made by Roblox to block the sharing of personal identifiable information and directing users to other platforms (32m41s).

Market Updates: Cryptocurrency, AI Agents, and Huawei

• The cryptocurrency market is sustaining its rally, with Bitcoin up to $92,000 and MicroStrategy's stock up 6% after selling convertible debt to buy more Bitcoin (33m11s).
• Tech firms are racing to develop AI-powered agents to improve efficiency across the sales industry, with Rox being one of the leaders in the field (33m48s).
• Rox CEO and co-founder Ishan Mukherjee estimates that there are a growing number of companies building agents for enterprise, including incumbent vendors repositioning themselves as AI companies and early-stage companies entering the market (34m50s).
• Rox has raised $50 million and is building AI that focuses on limiting revenue for the largest enterprises, aiming to help businesses achieve their revenue targets without doubling their team size (35m23s).
• Ishan Mukherjee explains that 90% of revenue in scale enterprises comes from the largest customers, and that the top 15% of employees are responsible for generating this revenue, highlighting the need for AI-powered agents to augment human capabilities (35m48s).
• Rox aims to be essential to enterprises growing and securing their customers, and has built the first enterprise-ready agent, which has seen amazing early adoption (36m38s).
• Huawei's ambitions to create more powerful chips for AI and smartphones have been hindered by US sanctions, causing the firm's marquee chips to be stuck at current technology until at least 2026 (37m1s).

Nvidia and Google's Quantum Computing Partnership

• Nvidia is teaming up with Google to pursue quantum computing, a technology that was once considered science fiction (37m21s).
• Nvidia's supercomputer will be used by Google to strip out noises that add to the difficulty of quantum computing, which is still in its early stages (38m5s).
• Quantum computing aims to use quantum mechanics to represent information and replace standard semiconductors, but it is a challenging task to distinguish between actual information and random noise generated by the environment (38m31s).
• Nvidia's technology will help develop components more quickly that can simulate the environment and reduce noise, allowing for faster progress in quantum computing (38m49s).
• Google is partnering with Nvidia due to the immense data processing power that quantum computing could achieve, which could potentially revolutionize various fields (39m4s).
• Nvidia is covering its bets by investing in quantum computing, which could potentially replace current technologies, but also offers opportunities for the company to accelerate progress in various fields (39m27s).

SpaceX's Starship Launch and Development

• SpaceX is preparing to launch its Starship rocket, which is the largest and most powerful rocket ever developed, with the goal of perfecting its technology to send humans to deep space (41m42s).
• The Starship rocket has dozens of engines at its base and is designed to withstand the intense heat generated during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere (42m1s).
• SpaceX aims to make launching Starship routine, with the President anticipating up to 400 launches over the next four years, which would make the process comfortable and repetitive (42m4s).
• The goal of Starship is to replace current vehicles used to launch humans and cargo to orbit, and it will also be used to send the next generation of Starlink satellites into orbit (42m31s).
• Starship will be a key part of SpaceX's business plan, including being used as a lender for the NASA Artemis program to land people on the moon and eventually send humans to Mars (42m47s).
• To achieve deep space destinations, Starship needs to refuel in orbit, which has never been done at this scale before, requiring the launch of multiple Starships that will dock and refuel in orbit (43m17s).
• SpaceX still needs to perfect the booster catch and ensure Starship can return to Earth in one piece, with the recent test showing some pieces burning away (43m49s).
• The development of Starship is a work in progress, with each test being a step forward, but it will be some time before anyone launches on the vehicle, let alone goes to the moon or Mars (43m59s).