Apple has accelerated work to develop its own search engine that would allow the iPhone maker to offer an alternative to Google, a Financial Times report said Wednesday.

The report, citing unnamed sources, said signs of the search engine technology have begun to appeal in its iOS 14 operating system.

The move comes amid increased scrutiny by antitrust enforcers, who sued Google in the United States over its dominance in search technology.

As part of the lawsuit, the Department of Justice noted that Google pays Apple billions of dollars to be the principal search engine on iOS devices.

Apple did not immediately respond to an AFP query. Reports in the past have said Apple had begun some in-house research on creating a search engine.

According to the FT, Apple two years ago hired Google's head of search, John Giannandrea, in a move designed to help build artificial intelligence capabilities and its Siri virtual assistant.

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China's Ant Group says to raise $34 bn in record IPO
Beijing (AFP) Oct 26, 2020
Chinese e-payments giant Ant Group said Monday it plans to raise $34 billion in a listing shared between Hong Kong and Shanghai, making it the biggest IPO in history. The record-shattering IPO comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump tries to smother Chinese technology companies, whose ascent is seen by Washington as a threat to American security, prestige and supremacy in the digital age. The cash raised from the split float between Hong Kong and Shanghai would exceed the $29 bi ... read more