DOJ indicates it’s considering Google breakup following monopoly ruling

Published

1 year ago

October 9, 2024

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U.S. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter speaks about the antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment during a press conference as Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco look on during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

Ken Cedeno | Reuters

The U.S. Department of Justice late Tuesday made recommendations for Google’s search engine business practices, indicating that it was considering a possible breakup of the tech giant as an antitrust remedy.

The department said in a filing that the remedies necessary to “prevent and restrain monopoly maintenance could include contract requirements and prohibitions; non-discrimination product requirements; data and interoperability requirements; and structural requirements.”

The DOJ also said it was “considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features — including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence — over rivals or new entrants.”

In August, a U.S. judge ruled that Google holds a monopoly in the search market after the landmark case from the government filed in 2020, alleged that Google has kept its share of the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry and a feedback loop that sustained its dominance. The court found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which outlaws monopolies.

Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, said the company plans to appeal the ruling and highlighted the court’s emphasis on the high quality of Google’s search products, which the judge also noted in his ruling.

The most likely outcome, according to some legal experts, is that the court will ask Google to do away with certain exclusive agreements such that it has with Apple. They also believed the court may suggest that Google make it easier for users to try other search engines. However, a break-up seemed less likely, the experts said at the time.

In the second quarter, “Google Search & Other” accounted for $48.5 billion in revenue, or 57% of Alphabet’s total revenue. The company holds 90% of search market share.

The recommendations are still far from being decided.

Judge Mehta said he’ll aim to rule on the remedies by August 2025 and Google will likely appeal, drawing out any final impact potentially years. In a separate antitrust case this week, a U.S. judge issued a permanent injunction that will force Google to offer alternatives to its Google Play store for downloading apps on Android phones.

A judge just wrapped a trial for a separate antitrust case brought on by the DOJ — though this one homed in on Google’s ad tech business.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Technology

ServiceNow in talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Armis in potential $7 billion deal, Bloomberg reports

Published

4 hours ago

December 14, 2025

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ServiceNow in talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Armis in potential billion deal, Bloomberg reports

Software company ServiceNow is in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity startup Armis, which was last valued at $6.1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

The deal, which could reach $7 billion in value, would be ServiceNow’s largest acquisition, the outlet said, citing people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

The acquisition could be announced as soon as this week, but could still fall apart, according to the report.

Armis and ServiceNow did not immediately return a CNBC request for comment.

Armis, which helps companies secure and manage internet-connected devices and protect them against cyber threats, raised $435 million in a funding round just over a month ago and told CNBC about its eventual plans for an IPO.

Armis CEO Yevgeny Dibrov and CTO Nadir Izrael.

Courtesy: Armis

CEO and co-founder Yevgeny Dibrov said Armis was aiming for a public listing at the end of 2026 or early 2027, pending “market conditions.”

Armis’s decision to be acquired rather than wait for a public listing is a common path for startups at the moment. The IPO markets remain choppy and many startups are choosing to remain private for longer instead of risking a muted debut on the public markets.

Founded in 2016, Armis said in August it had surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenues, a milestone it achieved less than a year after reaching $200 million in ARR.

Its latest funding round was led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ growth equity fund, with participation from CapitalG, a venture arm of Alphabet. Previous backers have included Sequoia Capital and Bain Capital Ventures.

Read the complete Bloomberg article here.

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Here are 4 major moments that drove the stock market last week

Published

20 hours ago

December 13, 2025

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Here are 4 major moments that drove the stock market last week

Technology

Oracle says there have been ‘no delays’ in OpenAI arrangement after stock slide

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

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Oracle says there have been 'no delays' in OpenAI arrangement after stock slide

Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk appears on a media tour of the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, on Sept. 23, 2025.

Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Oracle on Friday pushed back against a report that said the company will complete data centers for OpenAI, one of its major customers, in 2028, rather than 2027.

The delay is due to a shortage of labor and materials, according to the Friday report from Bloomberg, which cited unnamed people. Oracle shares fell to a session low of $185.98, down 6.5% from Thursday’s close.

“Site selection and delivery timelines were established in close coordination with OpenAI following execution of the agreement and were jointly agreed,” an Oracle spokesperson said in an email to CNBC. “There have been no delays to any sites required to meet our contractual commitments, and all milestones remain on track.”

The Oracle spokesperson did not specify a timeline for turning on cloud computing infrastructure for OpenAI. In September, OpenAI said it had a partnership with Oracle worth more than $300 billion over the next five years.

“We have a good relationship with OpenAI,” Clay Magouyrk, one of Oracle’s two newly appointed CEOs, said at an October analyst meeting.

Doing business with OpenAI is relatively new to 48-year-old Oracle. Historically, Oracle grew through sales of its database software and business applications. Its cloud infrastructure business now contributes over one-fourth of revenue, although Oracle remains a smaller hyperscaler than Amazon, Microsoft and Google.

OpenAI has also made commitments to other companies as it looks to meet expected capacity needs.

In September, Nvidia said it had signed a letter of intent with OpenAI to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia equipment for the San Francisco artificial intelligence startup. The first phase of that project is expected in the second half of 2026.

Nvidia and OpenAI said in a September statement that they “look forward to finalizing the details of this new phase of strategic partnership in the coming weeks.”

But no announcement has come yet.

In a November filing, Nvidia said “there is no assurance that we will enter into definitive agreements with respect to the OpenAI opportunity.”

OpenAI has historically relied on Nvidia graphics processing units to operate ChatGPT and other products, and now it’s also looking at designing custom chips in a collaboration with Broadcom.

On Thursday, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan laid out a timeline for the OpenAI work, which was announced in October. Broadcom and OpenAI said they had signed a term sheet.

“It’s more like 2027, 2028, 2029, 10 gigawatts, that was the OpenAI discussion,” Tan said on Broadcom’s earnings call. “And that’s, I call it, an agreement, an alignment of where we’re headed with respect to a very respected and valued customer, OpenAI. But we do not expect much in 2026.”

OpenAI declined to comment.

WATCH: Oracle says there have been ‘no delays’ in OpenAI arrangement after stock slide