The tech conglomerate that owns Google is considering how to apply blockchain to its business, according to CEO Sundar Pichai
Alphabet Inc., the technology behemoth that controls Google, said that it is aggressively investigating how it may use Web3 and blockchain networks to benefit its company. In its Q4 earnings call yesterday, CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company was “definitely looking at blockchain and such an interesting and powerful technology with broad applications.”
“So as a company, we are looking at how we might contribute to the Web3 ecosystem and add value,” Pichai said in the call. “Just one example, our Cloud team is looking at how they can support our customers’ needs in building, transacting, storing value, and deploying new products on blockchain-based platform,” he said. “So we’ll definitely be watching the space closely and supporting it where we can.”
This is not the first time Alphabet has taken a pro-crypto position. In November of last year, the Internet billionaire invested $1 billion in the Chicago Mercantile Market, a futures exchange, as part of a ten-year partnership agreement. CME is a long-time proponent of the digital asset market and provides regulated bitcoin services. It joined the cryptocurrency bandwagon in 2017 when it introduced BTC futures trading for its customers.
Pichai did not provide specifics on how the search engine would incorporate blockchains, but hinted at possible applications inside its cloud services division. There is controversy about what Web3 is, while it is widely accepted to be a progression from today’s internet, which is dominated by Alphabet’s search engine.
Numerous proponents of Web3 see the coming technology as a counterbalance to centralized internet providers like Google. Pichai made his statements after Alphabet announced a profit of more than $20 billion from its online businesses during the Christmas quarter. Pichai highlighted Google’s efforts in augmented reality throughout the call, stating intentions to integrate critical services such as Maps and YouTube into whatever virtual worlds consumers could use in the future. He made no reference to the operation of any instrument.
