Browser Wars: New Competition for Google Chrome

Google Chrome has comfortably held a monopoly over internet browsers. Now ‘The Browser Company’ is threatening to change this. 

The Browser Company

The Browser Company is a web browser looking to disrupt the market. They promise “a new browser” that is better equipped for “the way we use the internet in 2020”. Although the business pitch is fairly vague, the company looks to streamline information and offer a more intelligent browser solution. The team of seven has an impressive collective CV. The founder was previously the director of Product at the Obama White House. Additionally, credentials of the team include Instagram, Amazon, Facebook, Snap and a number of startups. They may just be starting off, but their job repertoire will surely help. 

Funding

The startup, based in New York, has raised more than $5 million in funding. They are backed by many big names in the tech world including Jeff Weiner, the executive chairman of Linkedin, and Jason Warner, the CTO of GitHub. Silicon Valley veterans are looking to back the new startup and potentially threaten the dominance of Google Chrome.

Market Monopoly

Google Chrome entered the market when Microsoft Internet Explorer had almost 60% of the world’s browser market share. Back in 2008, the “new” Google Chrome browser made up a measly 0.3% market share. Now, Chrome boasts around 70% of the browser space. They reinvented what it meant to be a browser and offered a new range of tools and applications. This saw the transformation of how we use the internet and specifically how we search for information. Almost single-handedly, it introduced the world of SEO and intelligent search algorithms. In 2016, Google had around 2 billion active users of Chrome, a figure which is even higher now. It has significantly beat out its competitors, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

New Google Chrome Features

However, this is not goodbye for Chrome. Ever one to stay ahead of the competition, Google are already talking about increased battery life for Chrome users and more power efficient browsing. If Google is able to deliver on these promises, it could regain its position of number one in the market.