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Redcore
红芯浏览器
	Redcore on Windows 10
Developer(s)	Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd.; 红芯时代（北京）科技有限公司
Initial release	3 August 2018
Stable release	49.1.2623.213 / 3 August 2018
Engines	Blink; WebKit (iOS only);
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, Linux
Size	398 MB
Available in	Chinese
Type	Web browser
License	Freeware
Website	browser.redcore.cn

Redcore (Chinese: 红芯浏览器; lit. 'red core browser')^[3] is a web browser developed by Chinese company Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd.. Redcore is based on Chromium and uses the Blink browser engine.

The company previously claimed Redcore used a new browser engine that was developed in-house.^[4] In August 2018, social media users revealed that Redcore's internals were substantially similar to those of Google Chrome.^[5]

History

On 15 August 2018, Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd. announced that it had raised 250 million RMB in its series C funding round from venture capital investors, including Morningside Venture Capital, Fortune Venture Capital, and IDG Capital.^[6]^[7]^[8] At the time of financing, the company marketed Redcore as a "100pc China-developed browser" and claimed that it used the "Redcore" browser engine.^[8]

On 16 August 2018, after Redcore was revealed to be based on Chromium, Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd. responded that the project did not solicit state funds in its previous round of funding.^[9]

Chromium plagiarism scandal

On 16 August 2018, Chinese social media users disclosed that the Redcore installer, when fully decompressed, contained similar files and directories as the installer for Google Chrome.^[16] After the disclosure, media outlets including Sina accused Redcore of plagiarism and criticized the company for marketing a "Chrome-shell browser" (Chinese: Chrome套壳浏览器) as a domestic product developed completely in-house.^[17]^[18]

Chen Benfeng, the CEO of Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd., defended the product by describing three additional features of Redcore that were not present in Google Chrome.^[1]

By the end of 16 August, Redcore was no longer available for download from the company's website. Company co-founder Gao Jing told the China News Service that although the web browser is based on the open-source resources from Chrome, "it still uses domestic core technology and has other innovative elements". Gao said the browser was removed from the company's website to conduct "urgent technology checks".^[5]

On 17 August 2018, Redcore Times (Beijing) Technology Ltd. issued an apology announcement disclosing that Redcore is a browser engine based on Chromium.^[19]

References

^ ^a ^b 韩大鹏 (16 August 2018). "专访红芯陈本峰:不爽被"套壳" 所做产品有价值". 新浪科技 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ Apple, ed. (4 June 2018). "App Store Review Guidelines". developer.apple.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
^ Official website: "红芯国产浏览器". Retrieved 16 August 2018., where it shows that the browser is named "Redcore Browser" (Chinese: 红芯浏览器), and the browser engine is "Redcore" (Chinese: 红芯内核)
^ "自主研发国产浏览器内核红芯宣布获2.5亿融资". 凤凰网科技 (in Simplified Chinese). 快科技. 15 August 2018. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ye Zhanqi; Mo Yelin (16 August 2018). "Update: 'First Fully Homegrown' Browser Outed as Based on Google's Chrome". Caixin Global. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
^ 覃敏 (16 August 2018). 王影 (ed.). ""国产"浏览器红芯融资2.5亿元谷歌内核遭曝光". 财新网 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ Katherine Guo (15 August 2018). "DealShot: IDG Capital Joins $36M Round In Chinese Browser Developer Redcore". China Money Network. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sarah Dai (17 August 2018). "Redcore CEO admits '100pc China-developed browser' is built on Google's Chrome, says writing code from scratch would 'take many years'". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
^ "红芯浏览器回应：没有拿国家基金". 中华网 (in Simplified Chinese). 财经网. 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ 陈迪 (16 August 2018). 新吾 (ed.). "新京报评论：红芯浏览器是"站在巨人的肩膀上打包"吧！". 腾讯网 (in Simplified Chinese). 新京报. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ 上方文Q (16 August 2018). "号称自主内核国产红芯浏览器融资2.5亿：其实是Chrome套个壳". 新闻中心 ——快科技(原驱动之家) (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ Sherry Fei Ju (16 August 2018). "Chinese start-up under fire for using GoogleChrome files". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
^ Arjun Kharpal (16 August 2018). "Chinese firm touting 'innovative' software to beat US rivals is found using parts of Google's code". CNBC. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ Jiefei Liu (16 August 2018). ""100% China developed" browser engine turns out to be a Chromium fork". TechNode. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ Liao Shumin (16 August 2018). "Redcore Browser Exposed to Have Google Chrome's Code After Raising USD36 Million in Funds". Yicai Global. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ ^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[8]^[5]
^ 硅星人 (16 August 2018). "这款"自主国产"浏览器再次演绎"科技以换壳为本"". 新浪科技 (in Simplified Chinese). 创事记. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ Nina Xiang (16 August 2018). "Company Claims To Produce China's First Web Browser System, But It's Actually A Chrome Shell". China Money Network. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ "红芯浏览器致歉：宣传夸大不应特别强调国产自主". 新京报网 (in Simplified Chinese). 17 August 2018. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.