Google's exclusive deals 'blocked upstart search app'

Search giant blocked a $650 million start-up from working with Samsung and telcos because it violated their exclusivity contract...

Google’s billion-dollar exclusivity deals are back under the spotlight in the antitrust trial, as a start-up said it was crushed when the search giant turned the screw.

Alex Austin, founder of Branch Metrics, testified that Google invoked its exclusive revenue sharing deals with Samsung, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to block them.

Bloomberg reported Austin saying: “Time and again, the Google contract was the primary blocker for us distributing app search.”

Critics of the Google deals claim they blocked competition and innovation in search from being able to flourish.

Branch Metrics was considered by many VCs to have been able to shake up mobile search and challenge Google’s dominance.

Branch raised $650 million from VCs including the Samsung Next Fund to build its search engine for mobile apps.

It directed users to information within apps installed on their phones as well as helping them discover new apps.

Samsung sought to integrate Branch into phones in 2019 but then restricted its function…