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I don't see it. Google needs an independent DuckDuckGo to show it does not have a monopoly on search.

True.

So a helping hand doesn't taint the DDG brand, buys good will, and provides competition to the defacto monopoly. Good move.

How much is a 4 letter domain worth these days? 10s - 100s of thousands?

Duck.com would have been worth $500K+ on the open market.