Key takeaways:
- According to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, the tech giant is paying close attention to blockchain technology and is looking to contribute to the ecosystem
- Pichai said that the company’s cloud team is exploring ways of helping customers to transact and store value and deploy new products on blockchain-based platforms
- In recent weeks, Youtube and Google’s payment division hinted at possible integration of crypto-based solutions
Google looks to Web3 to power its flagship products and services
Google’s parent company Alphabet has long remained on the sidelines when it comes to integrating blockchain technology into its digital services empire. However, the search giant has lately been taking an outsized interest in Web3 technology.
Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki recently hinted that the video streaming leader is looking into NFTs for new monetization options for the platform’s growing number of content creators. In mid-January, Google announced it is reforming its digital payment division and will be including a broader range of financial solutions, including digital currencies, if user and merchant demand increases.
In a statement made earlier this week, Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai hinted at how Web3 tech could be implemented into a wider array of Google’s products and services and said the company is paying close attention to several “areas of interest” within the distributed ledger space. Alphabet’s augmented reality solutions, cloud computing, and user favorites like Youtube and Google Maps, could soon receive a blockchain boost.
“On Web3, we are definitely looking at blockchain and such an interesting and powerful technology with broad applications, so much broader again in any one application. So as a company, we are looking at how we might contribute to the ecosystem and add value.”
The CEO added that Google’s cloud service team is exploring ways to help customers “transacting and storing value” and “deploying new products on blockchain-based platforms.” He added that the search giant will be “watching the space closely” and provide support to the open-source sector when possible.
Alphabet is not the only “Big Five” American IT behemoth to show its commitment to Web3 solutions over the last couple of weeks. When asked about its company’s plans regarding the metaverse in late January, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the iPhone maker is keeping a close eye on the sector and added that they “see a lot of potential” in the space and are “investing accordingly.”
You can listen to the highlights of a conference call between Pichai and his team, with a discussion on Web3, Youtube, and AI, in the video by ExpovistaTV embedded below.
