No, Brave is not owned by China

As an avid gamer and resident privacy geek, I get asked often whether the ads and trackers-blocking Brave browser falls under the influence of China in any way. So let‘s analyze what‘s really going on under Brave‘s hood in 2024.

Brave‘s All-American Origins

Brave Software Inc. resides firmly in the heart of San Francisco, conceived in 2015 by JavaScript creator Brendan Eich along with Brian Bondy. As former leading browser engineers from Mozilla, Eich and Bondy assembled a team now over 200 strong.

With $42 million raised over funding rounds, Brave operates as an indie startup. Who are its major financial backers? Prominent venture capital firms like Founders Fund and Foundation Capital provided crucial early stage investments:

I don‘t see any Chinese names filling those pockets. Rather, Brave compiled funding from American VCs and ICO participants aligned with its West Coast DNA.

Brave‘s Commitment to Fighting Data Tracking

While China badly trails the US and Europe on privacy protection legislation, Eich birthed Brave to champion what he considers our "civil rights of the 21st century." The numbers illustrate Brave‘s success toward this manifesto:

• Over 10 billion ads and trackers blocked globally
• Over 5 million daily active users as of 2022
• Ranked as the most private browser by SoftwareTestingHelp

Does this trajectory sound like something China would instigate or find favorable? Au contraire! Brave‘s aggressive anti-tracking stance undermines China‘s social control software, which feeds on user data.

Brave Aligns More with Europe‘s Top-Down Privacy Culture

With privacy part of its operating system, Brave believes in protecting users by default, not just when they take initiative. This matches proposals from the EU rather than China:

• All third party ad tracking blocked automatically without any user configuration
• HTTPS Everywhere support enables sites to run on secure connections by default
• Partners with search engine Brave Search that stores zero personal data

So Brave launches from California but looks across the Atlantic for inspiration on constructing a browsing fortress.

Growth Strategy: Rival Big Tech While Battling Chromium Dependence

Rather than dominate users, Brave wants to simplify their decisions and prioritize experience. This makes Brave an underdog built to challenge Chrome and Safari. However, Brave‘s underlying Chromium browser engine remains both essential asset and Achilles‘ heel:

Until Brave reduces dependency on Chromium, complete independence stays logically impossible. But the Brave team seems committed toward that vision rather than accept permanent vassal status to Google.

2023 and Beyond: Slow and Steady (and Free) Wins the Privacy Race

Brave adoption grows steadily if not explosively, as the following growth projections show:

• Estimated 2023 Brave users: 10-20 million
• Estimated 2025 projection: 100-200 million

These figures seem reasonable based on current 2X yearly growth and increased privacy awareness. Crucially, Brave avoids slippery slopes by staying free to use rather than monetizing user data. This durability contrasts starkly with most indie gaming hits.

Funding expansion through crypto initiatives brought short term uproar but long term stability. Brave stacked that financial base without dependence on fickle advertising revenue. So the central 1-2 privacy punch remains intact into the 2020s.

The Verdict: Brave Fights the Good Fight Independently

In conclusion, Brave continues its mission distinctly free from Chinese oversight or influence. The evidence overwhelming supports Brave Software‘s independence: leadership, funding sources, core values, partnerships, roadmap, and more.

Can Brave escape the Chromium chains? I say their stewardship earned the benefit of the doubt thus far. We shall see as the privacy vs profit battle rages on!