‘Not that incented to improve…’: Sundar Pichai takes swipes at Microsoft at US antitrust trial

livemint.com:

Sundar Pichai took swipes at rival Microsoft, while appearing before a court an antitrust hearing panel in Washington on October 30 Pichai said that Chrome, the web browser of Google that dominates the segment, was launched by the company at a time when browser market had stagnated. Microsoft's Internet Explorer was considered as the top web browser before the launch of Chrome in 2008.

“The browser market at the time had kind of stagnated," Reuters quoted Pichai as saying. "They (Microsoft) were not that incented to improve the browser," the top Google official reportedly added, further noting that the launch of Chrome amidst this period was a “pretty dramatic improvement".

Pichai appeared before the antitrust panel in a case where the United Stats' Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused Google of violating the norms to maintain its dominance in online search engine market and the related online advertising segment. If Google is found at fault, the company would likely be forced to change some of its business practices.

Pichai, who has been called as a witness for Google, is likely to be quizzed at the hearing about the investments that the company has made to remain the leader in the search engine segment. He is also expected to be asked about the measures which the company has taken to remain at the top, at a time when the online search features are undergoing changes due the release of hi-tech smartphones and innovation in search advertising, the Reuters report said.

Google, which has so far rejected the allegations of violating laws, has maintained that it has been investing heavily to retain its market share in the search engine segment and advertising businesses. The revenue sharing agreements with the involved