Google CEO testifies at trial of collapsed startup Ozy Media and founder Carlos Watson

abcnews.go.com:

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has testified briefly at the federal financial conspiracy trial surrounding the collapse of once-touted startup Ozy Media

Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified briefly Friday at the federal financial conspiracy trial surrounding buzz-to-bust startup Ozy Media, countering founder Carlos Watson's alleged claims that the search giant once sought to buy Ozy.

Google did consider hiring Watson for a high-level news executive job in 2021 and putting $25 million into Ozy in something of a tradeoff for luring him away, Pichai told jurors.

“Mr. Watson was a critical part of Ozy Media, and we were considering making an investment in the company to make the transition easier," he explained.

But “did you ever offer to purchase Ozy Media for $600 million?” prosecutor Dylan Stern asked.

“No,” replied Pichai, who heads Google and parent Alphabet Inc.

He said he had been introduced to Watson at a conference and then in a video interview for a possible Google job interacting with news outlets. Neither the hire nor the $25 million investment ultimately happened.

According to prosecutors, Watson later told another prospective investor that Pichai himself had extended a nine-figure offer to buy Ozy. The Mountain View, California-based company produced TV programs, podcasts and a music-and-ideas festival before falling apart in fall 2021 amid questions about whether it had flagrantly misrepresented its audience reach, deals and finances.

Ozy Media lawyer Shannon Frison said in an emailed statement Friday that it's “unequivocally untrue" that Watson told anyone that Google had made a $600 million offer.

“He never had such a conversation with Google and never told any person that he did,” Frison said.

Watson and Ozy