Christian Kroll, CEO of Berlin-based nonprofit search engine Ecosia, says 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, isn’t absurd.
On Thursday, Ecosia announced it had sent a proposal regarding Chrome to Google and to U.S. Judge Amit Mehta, who is expected to rule this month on remedies to his 2024 landmark decision that Google holds an illegal monopoly in internet search and advertising.
The Department of Justice has asked that Google divest Chrome, but Google has resisted and vowed to appeal the ruling. Still, competitors like OpenAI and Perplexity have expressed interest in buying Chrome, with Perplexity even offering $34.5 billion in cash last week.
Ecosia argues that Chrome could generate $1 trillion over the next decade and says it would use 60% of that revenue for global climate projects, including rainforest protection, reforestation, prosecuting polluters, and investing in green AI. The remaining 40% would go to Google, which would retain IP ownership and continue as the default search engine.
Ecosia already has a revenue-share agreement with Google and operates its own Chromium-based browser, which it says proves it can manage Chrome. The nonprofit has also pledged to retain Chrome’s staff if granted stewardship.
Related: Google Expands AI Mode Globally With Personalized and Agentic Capabilities
While acknowledging the request may be unconventional, Kroll says the proposal is designed to push the judge to consider alternatives beyond divestiture, which would likely keep Chrome under big tech control.
“We hold a track record of making impossible things possible,” Kroll said. “Should we get the judge thinking, who knows what might come out of it?”
