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Rani Molla

OpenAI wants to buy Google’s Chrome, too

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Axios’ Ina Fried that, just like Perplexity, the ChatGPT maker is also interested in buying Google’s Chrome browser, should the search giant be forced to sell in its antitrust trial.

“If Chrome is really gonna sell, we should take a look at it,” Altman told a group of journalists at a rare, wide-ranging on-the-record dinner. “I don’t have a number in mind, but I would like to have it.”

While still a long shot, an OpenAI bid to acquire Chrome is perhaps more feasible than Perplexity’s. OpenAI is eyeing a $500 billion valuation — a sum that makes both its current $18 billion valuation and Perplexity’s $34.5 billion offer for Alphabet’s browser seem paltry.

While still a long shot, an OpenAI bid to acquire Chrome is perhaps more feasible than Perplexity’s. OpenAI is eyeing a $500 billion valuation — a sum that makes both its current $18 billion valuation and Perplexity’s $34.5 billion offer for Alphabet’s browser seem paltry.

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Google uses an AI-generated ad to sell AI search

Google is using AI video to tell consumers about its AI search tools, with a Veo 3-generated advertisement that will begin airing on TV today. In it, a cartoonish turkey uses Google’s AI Mode to plan a vacation from its farm before it’s eaten for Thanksgiving.

Like other AI ad campaigns that have opted to depict yetis or famous artworks rather than humans, Google chose a turkey as its protagonist to avoid the uncanny valley pitfall that happens when AI is used to generate human likenesses.

Google’s in-house marketing group, Google Creative Lab, developed the idea for the ad — not Google’s AI — but chose not to prominently label the ad as AI, telling The Wall Street Journal that consumers don’t actually care how the ad was made.

Google’s in-house marketing group, Google Creative Lab, developed the idea for the ad — not Google’s AI — but chose not to prominently label the ad as AI, telling The Wall Street Journal that consumers don’t actually care how the ad was made.

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Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft combined spent nearly $100 billion on capex last quarter

The numbers are in and tech giants Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft spent a whopping $97 billion last quarter on purchases of property and equipment. That’s nearly double what it was a year earlier as AI infrastructure costs continue to balloon and show no sign of stopping. Amazon, which reported earnings and capital expenditure spending that beat analysts’ expectations yesterday, continued to lead the pack, spending more than $35 billion on capex in the quarter that ended in September.

Note that the data we’re using here is from FactSet, which strips out finance leases when calculating capital expenditures. If those expenses were included the total would be well over $100 billion last quarter.

Apple Store in China

Apple reports Q4 earnings and revenue slightly above Wall Street estimates

The iPhone maker reported its FY 25 fourth-quarter earnings Thursday.

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