SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI is close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet’s market-dominating Google Chrome, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The browser is slated to launch in the coming weeks, three of the people said, and aims to use artificial intelligence to fundamentally change how consumers browse the web. It will give OpenAI more direct access to a cornerstone of Google’s success: user data.

If adopted by the 500 million weekly active users of ChatGPT, OpenAI’s browser could put pressure on a key component of rival Google’s ad-money spigot. Chrome is an important pillar of Alphabet’s ad business, which makes up nearly three-quarters of its revenue, as Chrome provides user information to help Alphabet target ads more effectively and profitably, and also gives Google a way to route search traffic to its own engine by default.

OpenAI’s browser is designed to keep some user interactions within a ChatGPT-like native chat interface instead of clicking through to websites, two of the sources said.

The browser is part of a broader strategy by OpenAI to weave its services across the personal and work lives of consumers, one of the sources said.

OpenAI declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Led by entrepreneur Sam Altman, OpenAI upended the tech industry with the launch of its AI chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022. After its initial success, OpenAI has faced stiff competition from rivals including Google and startup Anthropic, and is looking for new areas of growth.

In May, OpenAI said it would enter the hardware domain, paying $6.5 billion to buy io, an AI devices startup from Apple’s former design chief, Jony Ive. A web browser would allow OpenAI to directly integrate its AI agent products such as Operator into the browsing experience, enabling the browser to carry out tasks on behalf of the user, the people said.

The browser’s access to a user’s web activity would make it the ideal platform for AI “agents” that can take actions on their behalf, like booking reservations or filling out forms, directly within the websites they use.

OpenAI has its work cut out — Google Chrome, which is used by more than 3 billion people, currently holds more than two-thirds of the worldwide browser market, according to web analytics firm StatCounter. Apple’s second-place Safari lags far behind with a 16% share. Last month, OpenAI said it had 3 million paying business users for ChatGPT.

Perplexity, which has a popular AI search engine, launched an AI browser, Comet, on Wednesday, capable of performing actions on a user’s behalf. Two other AI startups, The Browser Company and Brave, have released AI-powered browsers capable of browsing and summarizing the internet.

Chrome’s role in providing user information to help Alphabet target ads more effectively and profitably has proven so successful that the Department of Justice has demanded its divestiture after a U.S. judge last year ruled that the Google parent holds an unlawful monopoly in online search.

OpenAI’s browser is built atop Chromium, Google’s own open-source browser code, two of the sources said. Chromium is the source code for Google Chrome, as well as many competing browsers including Microsoft’s Edge and Opera. Last year, OpenAI hired two longtime Google vice presidents who were part of the original team that developed Google Chrome. The Information was first to report their hires and that OpenAI previously considered building a browser.

An OpenAI executive testified in April that the company would be interested in buying Chrome if antitrust enforcers succeeded in forcing the sale. Google has not offered Chrome for sale. The company has said it plans to appeal the ruling that it holds a monopoly.

OpenAI decided to build its own browser, rather than simply a “plug-in” on top of another company’s browser, in order to have more control over the data it can collect, one source said.

Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke was indicted on a federal criminal conspiracy charge related to allegedly rigging a bid to develop, manage, and operate the University of Texas’ basketball and entertainment arena in Austin, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

Oak View Group, which will pay $15 million in penalties in connection with the allegations, later Wednesday said that Leiweke “will transition from the position of CEO to” vice chairman of the entertainment venue giant’s board of directors, and remain a shareholder.

Leiweke, 68, is accused in the indictment of conspiring with another would-be bidder on UT’s $338 million Moody Center arena project to induce that second company in February 2018 to drop out of the competition with Oak View Group in exchange for receiving lucrative subcontracts at the 15,000-seat arena.

CNBC has been told the second company was Legends Hospitality, a New York-based venue services company that is majority-owned by Sixth Street Partners, and whose minority owners include the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys.

The indictment in U.S. District Court in Austin says that Leiweke later reneged on that promise to the second company after it dropped its effort to bid on the entire project.

“The arena opened to the public in April 2022, and OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the project to date,” the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

Leiweke “rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, in a statement.

Leweike, in a 2022 interview with CNBC, said that the Moody Center was one of his company’s “two most successful arenas.”

The DOJ also said Wednesday that Oak View Group and Legends agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in penalties “in connection with the conduct alleged in the indictment against Leiweke.”

Oak View Group’s website says that the company manages 400 sports, entertainment and other venues.

Lewieke, who is charged with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade, is the former CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Before that, he served as CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group.

A spokesman for Leiweke, in a statement to CNBC, said, “Mr. Leiweke has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity.”

“The Antitrust Division’s allegations are wrong on the law and the facts, and the case should never have been brought,” the spokesman said. “The law is clear: vertical, complementary business partnerships, like the one contemplated between OVG and Legends, are legal.”

“These allegations blatantly ignore established legal precedent and seek to criminalize common teaming efforts that are proven to enhance competition and benefit the public. The Moody Center is a perfect example, as it has resulted in substantial and sustained benefits to the University of Texas and the City of Austin.”

Leiweke, in his own statement, said, “While I’m pleased the company has resolved its Department of Justice Antitrust Division inquiry without any charges filed or admission of wrongdoing, the last thing I want to do is distract from the accomplishments of the team or draw focus away from executing for our partners, so the Board and I decided that now is the right time to implement the succession plan that was already underway and transition out of the CEO role.

Oak View Group, in a statement, said, “Oak View Group cooperated fully with the Antitrust Division’s inquiry and is pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges filed against OVG and no admission of fault or wrongdoing.”

“We support all efforts to ensure a fair and competitive environment in our industry and are committed to upholding industry-leading compliance and disclosure practices,” Oak View Group said.

CNBC has requested comment from Legends.

Chris Granger, who was president of Oak View Group’s division OVG360, has been appointed as interim CEO of Oak View Group by the company’s board.

Granger previously was group president for sports and entertainment of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, and president and chief operating officer of the Sacramento Kings.

President Donald Trump’s budget chief on Thursday said that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “has grossly mismanaged the Fed” and suggested he had misled Congress about a pricey and “ostentatious” renovation of the central bank’s headquarters.

The broadside by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought opened up a new front in Trump’s war of words against Powell.

Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed chairman to cut interest rates, without success. He reportedly has considered firing Powell and, more recently, publicly naming the chairman’s replacement months earlier than the end of Powell’s term next spring.

Vought’s letter raises the question of whether Trump will seek to remove Powell for cause, at least ostensibly.

But the Supreme Court in a recent decision strongly suggested that Federal Reserve board members have special protection from being fired by a president.

“While continuing to run a deficit since FY23 (the first time in the Fed’s history), the Fed is way over budget on the renovation of its headquarters,” Vought wrote in a post on the social media site X.

“Now up to $2.5 billion, roughly $700 million over its initial cost,” Vought wrote. “The cost per square foot is $1,923–double the cost for renovating an ordinary historic federal building. The Palace of Versailles would have cost $3 billion in today’s dollars!”

Vought’s tweet linked to a letter he sent Powell that referenced the Fed boss’s June 25 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

“Your testimony raises serious questions about the project’s compliance with the National Capital Planning Act, which requires that projects like the Fed headquarters renovation be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission,” Vought wrote.

“The plans for this project called for rooftop terrace gardens, VIP private dining rooms and elevators, water features, premium marble, and much more,” he wrote.

But Powell, in his testimony, said, “There’s no VIP dining room. There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. There are no new water features. There’s no beehives and there’s no roof terrace gardens,” Vought wrote.

“Although minor deviations from approved plans may be inevitable, your testimony appears to reveal that the project is out of compliance with the approved plan with regard to major design elements,” Vought wrote.

What’s “Froot Loops” in Italian?

The European confectionary company Ferrero has agreed to buy WK Kellogg Co., the manufacturer of iconic American cereals, for $3.1 billion.

The acquisition is set to bring the publicly traded maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies under the privately owned Italian manufacturer of Nutella, Tic Tac and Kinder chocolates.

WK Kellogg, based in Battle Creek, Michigan, was spun off from Kellogg’s in 2023, splitting the company’s North American cereal business from its other snack products like Pringles and Pop-Tarts, a unit that is now owned by the publicly traded conglomerate Kellanova. WK Kellogg, one of North America’s largest cereal makers, saw its shares surge more than 30% Thursday on the news of the deal.

The agreement comes after years of slowing demand for sugary breakfast cereals as many consumers look for healthier options. WK Kellogg came under fire last year when CEO Gary Pilnick said on CNBC that households squeezed by food companies’ price hikes should consider eating “cereal for dinner” to save money, part of a marketing pitch the company was making as an answer to inflation.

Yet snack demand, too, has flagged recently, with The Campbell’s Co. and General Mills each warning this year of slower sales as customers prioritize square meals.

Ferrero, perhaps best known for its namesake Ferrero Rocher chocolates in gold foil, originated in Alba, Italy, after World War II and is now a multinational food maker headquartered in Luxembourg. The company reported revenue of 18.4 billion euros last fiscal year, up nearly 9% from the one before.

Ferrero executive chairman Giovanni Ferrero described the acquisition Thursday as “a key milestone” in an effort to grow its footprint in North America, where the closely held company sells an array of popular candies.

The deal is among a series of high-profile Ferrero acquisitions in recent years. The firm bought Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and other U.S. candy brands from Nestlé in 2018, then acquired Kellogg’s bakery business, including Famous Amos and Keebler, in 2019 along with the manufacturer of Halo Top ice cream in 2022.

After the transaction closes, WK Kellogg will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrero. The deal is expected to close later this year.