Ecosia submitted a proposal asking U.S. Judge Mehta for a 10-year stewardship of Google's Chrome browser instead of a forced sale to a rival. The Department of Justice had sought divestiture as a remedy after a 2024 ruling that found Google illegally monopolized internet search and advertising. Competitors including OpenAI and Perplexity have offered to buy Chrome, with Perplexity making a $34.5 billion unsolicited cash offer. Ecosia projects Chrome could generate roughly $1 trillion over a decade and proposes spending the majority of revenue on climate projects and related public-interest initiatives. Ecosia was founded in 2009 and already donates millions monthly through partnerships in over 35 countries.
"It's not absurd, right?" Christian Kroll, CEO of Berlin-based non-profit search engine Ecosia, says of his company's unsolicited request to be granted a 10-year "stewardship" of Google's Chrome browser, instead of forcing Google to sell it to a competitor. His idea is most definitely absurd, but also clever. On Thursday, Ecosia announced it had sent a proposal regarding Chrome to U.S. Judge Mehta. The judge is expected to rule this month on remedies to his 2024 landmark decision that Google has an illegal monopoly in internet search and advertising.
One of the remedies the Department of Justice asked for would force Google to divest itself from Chrome. Google has not agreed to do so (and in 2024 vowed to appeal the original ruling). Still, competitors have been lining up to buy Chrome ever since. Both OpenAI and Perplexity have said they'd buy it; last week Perplexity even made an unsolicited $34.5 billion cash offer.
The proposal promises to spend those billions on climate projects, as is Ecosia's general mission. Founded in 2009, the non-profit donates millions per month and has relationships with local communities and NGOs in over 35 countries. It has specified projects in this Chrome proposal, including protecting rainforests, global tree-planting and agroforestry, prosecuting polluters, and investing in green AI tech.
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