Google’s Pichai warns antitrust judge that forced data sharing could ‘gut’ search R&D

Google chief Sundar Pichai told a federal judge Wednesday that a proposal to make the company share its search index and query data with rivals would amount to “a de facto divestiture” of its core intellectual property and cripple future research spending, according to a Reuters report.

The same data trove that let Google dominate search now trains Gemini, and prosecutors want rivals to tap it. Pichai linked the data-sharing demand directly to AI development, warning it would let competitors “reverse-engineer every aspect of our technology” and gut future AI R&D.

Pichai testified in the remedy phase of a landmark U.S. antitrust case after Judge Amit Mehta ruled last year that Google illegally preserved its search monopoly through multibillion-dollar default-placement deals with Apple, Samsung and major U.S. carriers. The remedy trial began April 21, with Judge Mehta signaling a written order “in the coming months.”

Google hopes to finalize an agreement “by mid-year” to embed its Gemini large-language model inside Apple Intelligence, Pichai said, confirming earlier discussions with Apple CEO Tim Cook. DOJ lawyers highlighted Google’s Apple-plus-carriers spend (approximately $20 billion annually) to show why a Gemini-on-iPhone pact could extend the company’s dominance.

The CEO added that Google is already “experimenting” with ads inside the Gemini app: a jab at prosecutors’ claim that the company must find new revenue streams if default payments are curbed.

Judge Mehta is weighing fixes that range from scrapping $20 billion in default-search payouts to carving off Chrome. (In 2021, Google paid Apple $26.3 billion, according to evidence from the proceedings, according to WSJ.) The government coalition seeks a ban on default-status payments, limits on exclusive deals with device makers, and, most radically, a forced spin-off of the Chrome browser. Android is reportedly also “on the table” as a potential divestiture target. Google calls these measures “disproportionate and legally unsupported.” Pichai called the proposal “so far-reaching,” and  ”so extraordinary.”

Companies ranging from OpenAI and Perplexity to Yahoo have expressed interest in acquiring Chrome.

DOJ lawyers want Google to open its 25-year-old search index to competitors. Pichai countered that handing over raw index data and live query logs would let outsiders “reverse-engineer Google Search” in short order and “make it unviable to invest in R&D the way we have for two decades.” For context, Google parent invested $49.3 billion in R&D in 2024 and $45.4 billion a year earlier.

Critics in tech-policy circles say the case has morphed from addressing a “search monopoly” to questioning “can any one firm own the AI stack?” Google already pays Apple an estimated $20 billion a year for default placement on iPhones. A Gemini-for-iOS deal could either deepen that tie-up or, in the eyes of regulators, extend Google’s dominance into on-device AI. By pushing back on data-sharing, Pichai is fighting to keep control of the trove that fuels both search ads and emerging AI products.

Judge Mehta said he aims to issue a remedies order “in the coming months.” Google has pledged an immediate appeal.