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Microsoft isn't exactly a garage startup - and they weren't just dethroned by Google, they actively tried to compete and gain back ground afterwards, building an entirely new browser in the process (pre-Chrome Edge) and offering it for free.

All for nothing, in the end even they had to give up and switch to white-label Chromium.

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> All for nothing, in the end even they had to give up and switch to white-label Chromium.

How is that a loss? All Microsoft wants is a controlled space to push their own products/services. Google gave them a tool to do just that for free. Microsoft would absolutely be writing its own (probably worse) browser if Google wasn't so generous to give them on without Microsoft having to incur any development cost.

Don't say they were generous, that was a completely strategical move. By having more browser adopt their engine they can have a better control on ads and ensure they keep a way to profile users. Goal obviously shared with microsoft which knows the engine is in the best hands for their needs too.

I am not sure they had to give up, but my initial experiences with Edge weren't great. There are some interesting claims of bad behavior on Google's part, but I wasn't only seeing problems on Google properties. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18697824

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