Perplexity's $34.5 Billion Bid for Google Chrome: A Game-Changing Move in the AI Search Race

Perplexity offers more than twice its total valuation to buy Chrome from Google

In the wake of its big antitrust loss, Google could soon find itself forced to sell one of its crown jewels. Among the government's proposed remedies in the search case is a requirement that Google divest its market-leading Chrome browser, and Perplexity is already throwing its proverbial hat into the ring with a whopping $34.5 billion offer. The problem, however, is that Perplexity doesn't have nearly that much cash. Perplexity has ridden the AI hype wave, with its AI-powered search appearing on smartphones and in the company's custom Comet browser. Like any company offering an AI product, investors have been happy to throw money at Perplexity, totaling around $1 billion so far. Investors value the company at about $14 billion right now. So how does Perplexity have more than twice that to buy Chrome? That's the neat part -- it doesn't. There is so much capital floating around in the artificial intelligence sphere currently that even a cash-poor firm like Perplexity can secure enough investment to splurge on Chrome. Reuters reports that the all-cash offer is funded by various venture funds, but Perplexity has not offered specifics. Throughout the remedy trial this past spring, a cavalcade of Google competitors took the stand to express interest in buying Chrome. For example, an OpenAI executive pledged to turn Chrome into an AI-first experience if that firm were able to acquire it. This testimony undercut Google's claim that no one in the industry would be able to manage the browser.

Perplexity offers to buy Chrome for billions more than it's raised | TechCrunch

In a moonshot move, AI search engine Perplexity has offered to buy Chrome from Google for $34.5 billion cash in an unsolicited offer, Reuters reported and Perplexity has confirmed to TechCrunch. Perplexity tells TC the terms of the offer include a commitment to keep Chrome's underlying engine, Chromium, open source and continue to invest in it. Perplexity's offer includes a promise to invest $3 billion into the open source project. Perplexity is also promising not to change the user defaults of Chrome users, including the default search engine. That is, Perplexity is promising to leave Google as the search engine rather than making its own AI-powered option the default. Google could not be reached for comment. TechCrunch will update the article if the company responds. This bid comes after the Department of Justice proposed in March that Google be forced to sell Chrome after a judge ruled the tech giant acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. Google has not agreed to sell Chrome and has vowed to fight the ruling. The Perplexity spokesperson believes the court will soon set terms for remedies, perhaps later this month. (Google is also fighting another federal case where the judge ruled it illegally monopolized adtech, and the DOJ is proposing Google be forced to divest two of its adtech products or otherwise break up its ad business.) When the DOJ first proposed that Google divest Chrome, both OpenAI and Perplexity expressed interest in buying it. Given that Chrome is the dominant browser, with 68% marketshare according to Statcounter, if the court rules Chrome must be sold, no doubt others worldwide would want to bid as well. Interestingly, the CEO of rival search engine Duck Duck Go testified in April that Chrome could be worth "upwards of $50 billion," Bloomberg reported at the time. Should Perplexity's offer succeed, it could be considered a bargain. Still, this offer for Chrome is far more than Perplexity has raised from investors and more than the startup's current valuation. Perplexity has raised about $1.5 billion to date, Pitchbook estimates, including an extension round of $100 million raised last month that valued it at $18 billion, Bloomberg reported. In the meantime, Perplexity last month launched its own browser, called Comet, in its bid to grow its AI search business without having to serve its customers through a browser, particularly one owned by its main rival Google. And, by the way, last month, Perplexity also reportedly submitted a bid to merge with TikTok.

AI Startup Perplexity Offers To Buy Google's Chrome Browser for a Whopping $34.5 Billion

Expertise Community solar, state solar policy, solar cost and accessibility, renewable energy, electric vehicles, video games, home internet for gaming. Perplexity, the AI startup responsible for the eponymous chatbot and LLM-powered search engine, has made a formal bid to purchase Google's Chrome browser. The proposed $34.5 billion deal would eclipse Perplexity's current valuation. In July, the company was valued at $18 billion -- just over half the amount of the proposed bid. The company has said that several interested investors are willing to back the Chrome deal. Perplexity's bid comes after Google lost an antitrust suit initiated by the US Department of Justice last year. The judge in the case ruled that Google maintains an illegal monopoly in the internet search industry, and ordered the company to divest itself of the Chrome browser. The Department of Justice's filing maintained that this would create a more equal playing field for search engine competitors. Google has not yet detailed any plans to divest itself of Chrome or change its business model. The company's response said the ruling was emblematic of a "radical interventionist agenda" and vowed to fight the decision. Representatives for Google and Perplexity did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Perplexity has itself been eyed by large tech companies with an interest in the startup. Meta approached Perplexity for an acquisition earlier this year, but a deal never materialized. If the plucky startup were to acquire the Chrome browser, it would give it a massive advantage in the AI arms race -- where it's competing with much bigger fish, like OpenAI, Meta and Google. While Perplexity doesn't have comparable amounts of capital to expend on signing engineers, owning the largest search engine in the world will help build the company's signature agentic search engine AI models. Perplexity's latest development is Comet, an AI-powered search engine of the company's own making that launched last month.

Why Perplexity is going after Google Chrome - and yes, it's serious

Perplexity makes $34.5B bid to buy Google's Chrome browser.Deal would give Perplexity a gateway to the AI-driven web.Perplexity's bid could spark bidding war. When the Wall Street Journal broke the news that AI company Perplexity made an unsolicited all-cash offer of $34.5 billion to buy Google's Chrome browser, some people asked me, "Are they serious?" Oh, yes, it is. It's not that I'm a genius. The evidence was already there. Perplexity, the AI-driven search startup, has shown interest in Chrome. Acquiring Chrome would provide Perplexity with a shortcut to user acquisition and enhance data collection for targeted advertising. Even now, Perplexity's own AI-enabled web browser, Comet, is built -- like all web browsers except Firefox -- on Chromium, Chrome's open-source ancestor. It would give Perplexity a leg up on OpenAI, which has its own plans for an AI web browser. Also: I used Perplexity to make a restaurant reservation - now I'm wondering if Google is holding us back Perplexity has also made no secret of its desire to "out-Google" Google when it comes to search. As far as I'm concerned, Perplexity is a better search engine than Google. True, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas had said earlier that "Chrome should remain within and continue to be run by Google," but if the Department of Justice and the courts are going to force Google to get rid of Chrome anyway, well, what's a CEO to do except make the best possible deal? As Srinivas said in the offer letter, the proposal is "designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator." Also: Perplexity is the AI tool Gemini wishes it could be The federal judge handling the case, Amit Mehta, is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case in August. He's already put Google's divesting of Chrome on the table. He's also taken a hard line on Google, stating last year in his ruling that Google "is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly." According to Reuters' reporting: "Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years, and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine." This multibillion-dollar bid is nearly twice Perplexity's own latest valuation. However, Perplexity has already stated that several major venture capital investors back its bid. While no names have been mentioned, Perplexity has substantial backing from Accel, Softbank, and Bessemer, and supporters such as Nvidia and Jeff Bezos. None of these entities would balk at a few billion here or there, especially for something as potentially valuable as Chrome. Also: Perplexity says Cloudflare's accusations of 'stealth' AI scraping are based on embarrassing errors Besides, if you know your business history, this wouldn't be the first time a small company bought a much bigger property. For example, Dell Technologies' acquisition of EMC and subsequent reverse merger with VMware was a far larger deal at $67 billion. Some experts have suggested Perplexity wants attention. Bloomberg managing editor Mark Gurman tweeted: "Google Chrome isn't worth $35 billion, let alone $3.5 billion, without the Google user base. Browsers are completely commoditized, and their core tech is open source. Absolute head scratcher." Also: 5 reasons why I still prefer Perplexity over every other AI chatbot Others, such as Alon Yamin, co-founder and CEO of Copyleaks, an AI-based content verification startup, said the deal makes perfect sense. In an email, Yamin told ZDNET: "Perplexity AI's $34.5 billion bid for Chrome is more than a bold acquisition attempt; it's a signal that control over the browser is becoming one of the most valuable frontiers in the AI era. Whoever owns the gateway to the web holds immense influence over how information is accessed, prioritized, and trusted." Also: I tested ChatGPT's Deep Research against Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok AI to see which is best Google doesn't want to sell Chrome and is appealing the antitrust decision. The courts, however, may not give it any choice in the matter. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. I suspect that if others agree with Yamin, we may see a bidding war for Chrome. After all, ChatGPT's head of product, Nick Turley, said in April that if Google were forced to sell Chrome, OpenAI would be interested.

Perplexity takes a shine to Chrome, offers Google $34.5B

AI search biz Perplexity has offered to pay about twice as much as it is worth to acquire Chrome from Google. A company spokesperson confirmed that the nearly three-year-old startup, with an estimated value of $18 billion, has proposed paying $34.5 billion to take Chrome and the associated Chromium open-source project off Google's hands. Unidentified venture capital firms would supply the necessary funds. Perplexity just launched its own browser, Comet, based on Chromium. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The search giant hasn't indicated any interest in selling Chrome, but it could be required to do so if US District Judge Amit Mehta deems that to be an appropriate remedy to restore search market competition. A year ago, following a 10-week bench trial, Judge Mehta ruled [PDF] that Google acted unlawfully to monopolize online search services. He is expected to decide the appropriate remedy before the end of the month. One scenario under consideration is the forced divestiture of Chrome, a possibility that has alarmed Mozilla and piqued the interest of would-be search rivals. During that trial, ChatGPT head of product Nick Turley reportedly said OpenAI would be interested in buying Chrome if Google were forced to sell. OpenAI is also reportedly preparing to launch its own browser. Google has said it plans to appeal the ruling. Chrome is the most widely used web browser in the world, with an estimated global market share of about 67.9 percent, according to StatCounter. That represents roughly 3.8 billion users out of a total of 5.65 billion global internet users - a hugely powerful distribution channel with the potential to reach an audience larger than Facebook's. The possibility that AI-based search might supplant traditional keyword search has given hope to AI ventures like Perplexity and OpenAI, and to past monopolists like Microsoft, which have struggled to gain market share from Google. Microsoft in 2023 added AI to its Bing search service, which initially didn't go well and hasn't substantially changed the dynamics of the search market. This may have something to do with Google's countermeasures, in the form of AI Overviews - the Chocolate Factory's own application of AI to search. Perplexity, for all the hype surrounding the company (not to mention the copyright lawsuits), hasn't made much of a dent either. According to an OpenAI competitive intelligence document [PDF] presented as a trial exhibit by the US Justice Department during the search trial, Perplexity was handling 20 million daily messages in December 2024, while Google's AI Overviews served 595 million queries daily or about 7 percent of an estimated 8.3 billion daily search queries processed by Google. OpenAI's ChatGPT appears to be the more plausible search competitor. The chatbot service, which entered the search market last October, supposedly exceeds Google AI Overviews in daily queries by some small percentage. The trial exhibit has been redacted to hide the claimed amount of that excess and it's unclear whether Google AI Overviews have gained ground since the trial. If AI alone hasn't remade the search market, the tech industry nonetheless expects Google to be weakened by court rulings, not only as a consequence of the search case overseen by Judge Mehta but due to US District Judge Leonie Brinkema's online advertising decision in April and to US District Judge James Donato's Android ruling last October. The result is a new browser war as established browser makers add AI to their browsers and AI firms launch browsers to distribute their AI services. Almost every browser maker, with the exception of Vivaldi, has been adding or experimenting with generative AI services, based on the expectation that users want natural language interaction and automation. It now falls to Judge Mehta to decide the rules of engagement. ®

AI Startup Perplexity Makes $34.5 Billion Bid for Google's Chrome Browser

AI startup Perplexity said it made a formal offer to acquire Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, in anticipation of requirements that may be imposed on the search giant in antitrust proceedings. The unsolicited bid was sent to Alphabet Inc.'s Google on Tuesday morning, a Perplexity spokesperson said. It comes not long after rival artificial intelligence startup OpenAI also expressed interest in acquiring Chrome, which together with the open-source Chromium software is the main way people access the web on PCs.

AI startup Perplexity makes bold $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Perplexity AI said it has made a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Chrome browser, a low but bold bid that would need financing well above the startup's own valuation. Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers - it made a similar one for TikTok US in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve U.S. concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership. Buying Chrome would allow the startup to tap the browser's more than three billion users for an edge in the AI search race as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry. Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a U.S. court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, a person familiar with the matter said, without naming the funds. As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf and acquiring Chrome would give it the heft to better compete against bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent has also expressed interest in buying Chrome and is working on its own AI browser. Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The company said the offer, with no equity component, would preserve user choice and ease future competition concerns. Analysts have said Google would be unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome, given it is crucial to the company's AI push as it rolls out features including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to help defend its search market share. A federal judge is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case sometime this month. Perplexity's bid is also below the at least $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google was forced to sell it. Besides OpenAI and Perplexity, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Akash Sriram Thomson Reuters Akash reports on technology companies in the United States, electric vehicle companies, and the space industry. His reporting usually appears in the Autos & Transportation and Technology sections. He has a postgraduate degree in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds. Akash's interests include music, football (soccer), and Formula 1.

Perplexity offers to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion

The Department of Justice proposed Google divest Chrome as part of the antitrust suit the company lost last year. Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser, CNBC confirmed on Tuesday. That figure is higher than Perplexity's current valuation, but the company said several investors have agreed to back the deal. Google did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the bid. Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine that gives users simple answers to questions and links out to the original source material on the web. Last month, it launched its own AI-powered browser called Comet. The U.S. Department of Justice proposed Google divest Chrome as part of the antitrust suit the company lost last year. The judge in the case ruled that Google has held an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search.

Perplexity Wants to Buy Google Chrome for $34.5 Billion: Report

Chrome has about 3.5 billion users and has become a legal problem for Google. AI company Perplexity has offered to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. The offer is being characterized as a "longshot," especially since Perplexity itself is only valued at about $18 billion, according to the newspaper, but the idea is rooted in a very real problem for Google: A judge is currently considering whether Google's parent company Alphabet should be forced to sell Chrome over antitrust concerns. Perplexity told the Journal that it had investors lined up, including large venture-capital funds. The newspaper reports that Perplexity's offer was “designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator," in the AI company's words. But Alphabet, under CEO Sundar Pichai, has resisted proposals to sell off Chrome. Other companies like OpenAI have previously floated interest in buying Chrome, though none of the big players have made a large public move like Perplexity. Neither Google nor Perplexity responded to questions from Gizmodo emailed Tuesday morning. Google Chrome has about 3.5 billion users, which is an incredible market share when you remember that there are only about 8.1 billion people on the planet. The U.S. Justice Department first sued Google in 2020 over allegations of monopolistic behavior, and U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in the summer of 2024 that the tech giant really was a monopoly. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,†Mehta wrote at the time. The question is what you do about it. Perplexity recently launched its own browser called Comet, which injects more generative artificial intelligence into the browser experience. But there's disagreement among AI enthusiasts about whether browsers are actually the future of the AI experience. Many futurists imagine the traditional web browser won't even be a thing a decade from now. And AI skeptics are quick to point out just how unreliable AI can be when you ask it difficult questions. Lawsuits against Google sped up in recent years over its alleged antitrust behavior, both in Europe and the U.S. In 2023, the DOJ said Google had engaged in "anticompetitive and exclusionary conduct," and President Joe Biden's Attorney General, Merrick B. Garland, said the lawsuits against Google were about protecting consumers and safeguarding competition. Judge Metha is expected to rule sometime this month about the remedy for Google's monopoly. And while it's not clear what the judge will decide, he'll no doubt take notice of Perplexity's offer.

Chrome isn't for sale, but Perplexity just offered $34.5 billion anyway

Perplexity says it has funding lined up and would keep Chrome open source with no search engine changes. Google might be forced to sell its Chrome browser in the future, thanks to a US court ruling that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. But while the case is still crawling through appeals, Perplexity is making an ambitious bid to swoop in early to buy it. As reported by Reuters, Perplexity AI has tabled an unsolicited $34.5 billion cash offer to Google for Chrome, despite the fact that it isn't actually for sale yet. The three-year-old company is worth less than half that itself, but says it has unnamed backers ready to cover the cost. CEO Aravind Srinivas has a taste for headline-making bids. Earlier this year, he offered to merge with TikTok's US arm to help solve Washington's concerns about Chinese ownership. Perplexity's pitch includes keeping Chrome's underlying code open source, investing $3 billion over two years, and leaving its default search engine untouched. The startup argues this would preserve user choice and avoid future antitrust headaches. It's a bold target. Chrome has over three billion users and is central to Google's AI search push, making it unlikely the company would let it go until its legal avenues are completely exhausted. Analysts think that the fight could drag on for years, even if a court eventually orders a sale. Still, the fact that Perplexity -- and reportedly OpenAI, Yahoo, and Apollo Global Management -- are circling Chrome shows just how valuable the browser has become in the AI race.

AI rivalry heats up as Perplexity makes $34.5B bid for Chrome

Perplexity was approached by Meta earlier this year about a potential acquisition, but the companies did not finalize a deal. Perplexity, led by CEO Aravind Srinivas, already operates an AI-powered browser called Comet. Buying Chrome would give it access to more than 3 billion users and a stronger position against larger rivals like OpenAI, which is developing its own AI browser. The bid follows Perplexity's headline-grabbing January proposal to merge with TikTok's U.S. business to resolve national security concerns over Chinese ownership. Backed by investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank, the company has raised about $1 billion to date. Perplexity said multiple unnamed funds have offered to finance the Chrome deal fully. Alphabet has not offered Chrome for sale and did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The browser is central to Google's AI strategy, which includes rolling out AI-generated search summaries called Overviews. Regulators, however, have sought remedies in a U.S. antitrust case against Google, with the Justice Department pushing for a Chrome divestiture.

Perplexity wants to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion, twice the company's value

Perplexity, an AI startup, is putting together a bid to buy Google Chrome. There are just two potential problems. First, Chrome isn't actually for sale. Second, the bid is worth twice as much as Perplexity. As reported by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Perplexity is making an "all-cash offer" to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion. Perplexity hasn't been quiet on this topic, with the company previously saying in court that it "thinks" it could run Chromium at the same scale as Google without lessening quality or charging for the work. As Reuters notes, Perplexity's bid apparently pledges to keep Chromium open source, make no changes to its default search engine, and "invest $3 billion over two years" to the project. As it stands today, Google Chrome isn't for sale. That may change as Google's antitrust trial comes to a close, with a judge expected to decide on remedies - which may include a forced sale of Chrome - "sometime this month." The other big question with this bid comes by way of financing. $34.5 billion is well below prior estimates of what Chrome could be worth, but it's also nearly twice what Perplexity as a company itself is worth. So where is all that extra money coming from? It's said that "multiple funds" may be willing to finance the deal in full. It remains to be seen how this will all play out, but Perplexity isn't the only name here, as OpenAI and Yahoo both previously expressed interest. Notably, too, this comes barely a month after Perplexity launched its own "Comet" web browser. This isn't the first time Perplexity has made an attention-grabbing offer to buy a big tech product, as the company previously tried to position itself to buy TikTok.

Perplexity just made a $34.5 billion offer for Google Chrome -- what you need to know

The timing is no accident. A U.S. court recently ruled Google holds an illegal monopoly in search, and one proposed remedy is forcing the company to sell Chrome. Perplexity's bid positions it as the first major player ready to pounce if divestiture becomes reality. According to the WSJ report, the company says it would keep Chrome's open-source Chromium code, retain Google as the default search engine and invest $3 billion into the browser's development over the next two years. It's also a signal that Perplexity, already developing its own AI-powered Comet browser, sees controlling a mainstream browser as key to winning the AI search race. Founded in 2022, Perplexity has quickly become one of the fastest-growing names in AI search. Its conversational answer engine combines live web results with generative AI to deliver concise, cited responses. Backed by Nvidia, SoftBank, and other major investors, the company has launched its own AI-driven browser, Comet, and is in talks to pre-install it on smartphones. While still far smaller than Google, Perplexity's rapid growth and investor backing give it the resources, and boldness, to make a play for one of the world's most popular browsers. Perplexity's $34.5 billion bid for Chrome may be a long shot, but it's a bold declaration of intent in the AI browser wars. Whether or not the deal happens, it highlights how control of the browser, essentially the gateway to the internet, is becoming a strategic prize in the fight for AI dominance. If regulators force Google's hand, this could be the start of a browser shake-up like nothing we've seen before. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.

Google received a 'longshot' $34 billion offer for Chrome from a surprising source

U.S. antitrust regulators have been on a roll, and Google may soon be forced to sell its popular Chrome browser, which is by far the leading web browser among Americans. Now, Google has reportedly received a massive 'longshot' offer from a surprising source: Perplexity AI. The Wall Street Journal broke the news today that Perplexity AI has reportedly offered Google $34.5 billion to buy Chrome, which is surprising for a few reasons. Most notably, Perplexity itself is only valued at $18 billion, the Journal reports. Second, while the exact valuation of Chrome is not known, some estimates place the web browser's value at either $20 or $50 billion, depending on who's asking. Perplexity is best known as an AI-powered search engine, but the company recently launched Comet, an agentic AI browser. So, how would Perplexity AI fund this offer? According to the Wall Street Journal, Perplexity has the backing of several venture-capital funds and other investors, who would back their offer. OpenAI has also reportedly expressed interest in buying Google Chrome, though it's unclear if Google would be willing to sell such a popular asset to its chief AI rival. All of this is unfolding as tech companies brace for the ripple effects of the Department of Justice's landmark antitrust case against Google. Indeed, Google is unlikely to sell Chrome unless forced to do so. The antitrust case over Google's monopoly of the search marketplace determined that Google "illegally [monopolized] the search engine and search advertising markets." Google has already lost that case, and now U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta is weighing potential remedies, one of the most dramatic being a forced sale of Chrome. At the same time, major tech companies are looking to a post-Google Search web economy and trying to get a head start in the race for AI browser dominance Many analysts think a sale of Google Chrome is ultimately unlikely, but that hasn't stopped rivals like Perplexity from moving fast to put their name in the hat. On top of the Chrome question, Judge Mehta could also restrict Google's ability to pay for default search engine placement on browsers and devices -- a move that reportedly had Apple eyeing Perplexity as a potential acquisition target in the first place. Chrome boasts roughly 3.5 billion users worldwide and commands more than 60 percent of the global browser market -- a dominance that makes any talk of a forced sale one of the most consequential antitrust remedies in tech history.

AppleInsider.com

Perplexity has said it wants to buy Chrome from Google for $34.5 billion, despite Perplexity's value being considerably less than what it offered. The Department of Justice has repeatedly demanded for Google to sell off Chrome, after being deemed a monopolist in 2024. While little has actually happened to offload the browser so far, one company is keen to get its hands on the software. According to the Wall Street Journal, AI startup Perplexity has made an offer to acquire Chrome from Google. That offer is said to be $34.5 billion in cash. The offer is one that is much higher than Perplexity itself is worth, with the AI firm estimated to be valued at just $18 billion. Perplexity insisted to the report that it is a serious offer and that it has backing from several large venture capital firms. In theory, it can access the funds to make the deal a reality. The offer is apparently in the middle of the range of valuations for the browser. Estimates for its value are put between $20 billion and $50 billion. As part of the purchase, Chromium will continue to be maintained. The open-source project is used as the base of Chrome and other browsers, including Microsoft Edge, DuckDuckGo, Amazon Silk, and Opera, as well as the core of custom apps, including those running on Electron. To Perplexity, the purchase would give the company a considerable leg up in the marketplace. While it does have its own AI-centric browser, Comet, buying Chrome would give it a massive 3.5 billion users to access and profit from. It would also mean that Perplexity will be directly competing with Apple's Safari, one of the incumbent browsers on mobile devices. The move is one that may seem tempting to any big company in a similar position to Google. The sale offers a way for Google to offload the browser that the Department of Justice is keen to see split off from the main company. However, Google is being very resistant to handing off its browser. It has repeatedly complained in public about the situation and the possibility of a forced sell-off. A sale would be a risk to consumers when it comes to maintaining security, Google has previously insisted. There's also the issue of user data, with the current and largely understood Google collection regime being changed for something completely different. Perplexity's actions certainly don't help earn trust from others when it comes to training AIs. On August 4, Cloudflare claimed that Perplexity scraped web pages for AI training, but used several techniques to ignore any robots.txt limitations. There's also a possibility that the purchase could be financed in a completely different way. In late June, it was rumored that Apple executives had discussed the possibility of acquiring Perplexity, giving the firm a massive cash hoard at its disposal. Either way, at present, it doesn't seem that Google will take the bait of a sale to Perplexity, or any other major entities keen to pick up the browser. There's a chance that it could accept an acquisition request down the road, but only if it is pushed into it.

Perplexity's $34.5 billion gambit for Google's Chrome could change the AI wars overnight

Perplexity, an emerging force in artificial intelligence, has offered a staggering $34.5 billion for Google's Chrome browser, according to The Wall Street Journal. The unsolicited bid, which Perplexity confirmed to the newspaper, is far in excess of Perplexity's own $18 billion valuation and comes at a pivotal moment for both companies: Perplexity recently unveiled its own AI-native search browser, called Comet, last month, an explicit move to take on Google Chrome, Meanwhile, Google's own fate is up in the air as a federal judge weighs what remedies should follow from the 2024 ruling that Google had illegally monopolized the search market. Perplexity said in a statement to the Journal that its bid is "designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator." The Justice Department's antitrust case against Google, which began in 2020, accused the company of unlawfully suppressing competition by locking in default search deals with device manufacturers and browser developers. Last year, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google had, in fact, monopolized the search market through anticompetitive tactics. Among the most consequential is exactly what Perplexity is proposing: whether Google should be compelled to divest Chrome, a browser installed on billions of devices and accounting for well over 60% of global browser usage. Chrome, of course, is more than just a web browser; it's a strategic linchpin connecting users to Google Search and a treasure trove of data fueling Google's $2 trillion advertising apparatus. Chrome's size -- about 3.5 billion users -- positions it at the fulcrum of both user data collection and default search engine placement. The sale of Chrome is one of the Department of Justice's top recommendations as a Google remedy. For what it's worth, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg recently testified in court that Chrome could be worth upwards of $50 billion; some analysts offer more conservative estimates for its valuation, around $20 billion. Perplexity's bid, at $34.5 billion, lands squarely within that range. Perplexity, which has evolved from a little-known startup in 2022 to a high-profile competitor with an $18 billion valuation, now hosts about 30 million monthly active users and generates roughly $150 million in annual revenue. Its core product -- a real-time AI-powered search engine with source citations -- is positioned as a challenger to traditional search engines and leading AI assistants such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. Perplexity allows you to choose from many of those popular models, including GPT-5, Gemini 2.5 Pro from Google, and Claude Sonnet 4.0, which has attracted major investors including Nvidia, SoftBank, and Jeff Bezos. Perplexity has also been a prime acquisition candidate, with industry analysts suggesting Apple should buy Perplexity to strengthen its currently lagging AI portfolio and rely less on Google for search. And, of course, Perplexity already has its own AI web browser. Comet is capable of summarizing web pages, intelligently managing tabs, answering questions about on-page content, and automating tasks like calendar scheduling and online shopping. Comet's hybrid AI architecture combines localized processing for privacy-sensitive operations and cloud-based models -- such as GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, and Perplexity's own algorithms -- for more complex queries and agentic functions. Perplexity's CEO Aravind Srinivas described Comet on LinkedIn as a "cognitive operating system." In its letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Perplexity said its offer was designed to serve "the highest public interest" by placing Chrome in "capable, independent" hands. The company vows to maintain Chromium, the open-source foundation of Chrome and many other browsers, and also promises to keep Google as the default search engine within Chrome, though it would allow users to easily switch. This latter point may prove crucial as the DOJ contemplates how it will conclude its probe into Google's monopolistic practices. For what it's worth, Google has previously been opposed to any forced sale of Chrome. CEO Sundar Pichai has testified that divestiture would harm Google's ability to innovate, threaten user privacy and cybersecurity, and damage complementary services. The company has proposed narrower remedies -- chiefly, modifying or ending exclusive agreements with Apple, Mozilla, and Android -- to allow greater competition without a selloff.

Perplexity AI offers Google $34.5 bn for Chrome browser

Perplexity AI offered Google on Tuesday $34.5 billion for its popular Chrome web browser, which the internet giant could potentially be forced to sell as part of antitrust proceedings. The whopping sum proposed in a letter of intent by Perplexity is nearly double the value of the startup, which was reportedly $18 billion in a recent funding round. "This proposal is designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator focused on continuity, openness, and consumer protection," Perplexity chief executive Aravind Srinivas said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP. Google is awaiting US District Court Judge Amit Mehta's ruling on what "remedies" to impose, following a landmark decision last year that said the tech titan maintained an illegal monopoly in online search. US government attorneys have called for Google to divest itself of the Chrome browser, contending that artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the tech giant's dominance as the go-to window into the internet. Google has urged Mehta to reject the divestment, and his decision is expected by the end of the month. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Perplexity's offer vastly undervalues Chrome and "should not be taken seriously," Baird Equity Research analysts said in a note to investors. Given that Perplexity already has a browser that competes with Chrome, the San Francisco-based startup could be trying to spark others to bid or "influence the pending decision" in the antitrust case, Baird analysts theorized. "Either way, we believe Perplexity would view an independent Chrome -- or one no longer affiliated with Google -- as an advantage as it attempts to take browser share," Baird analysts told investors. Google contends that the United States has gone way beyond the scope of the suit by recommending a spin-off of Chrome, and holding open the option to force a sale of its Android mobile operating system. "Forcing the sale of Chrome or banning default agreements wouldn't foster competition," said Cato Institute senior fellow in technology policy Jennifer Huddleston. "It would hobble innovation, hurt smaller players, and leave users with worse products." Google attorney John Schmidtlein noted in court that more than 80% of Chrome users are outside the United States, meaning divestiture would have global ramifications. "Any divested Chrome would be a shadow of the current Chrome," he contended. "And once we are in that world, I don't see how you can say anybody is better off." The potential of Chrome being weakened or spun off comes as rivals such as Microsoft, ChatGPT and Perplexity put generative artificial intelligence (AI) to work fetching information from the internet in response to user queries. Google is among the tech companies investing heavily to be a leader in AI, and is weaving the technology into search and other online offerings.

Perplexity AI offers Google $34.5 bn for Chrome browser

San Francisco (United States) (AFP) - Perplexity AI offered Google on Tuesday $34.5 billion for its popular Chrome web browser, which the internet giant could potentially be forced to sell as part of antitrust proceedings. The whopping sum proposed in a letter of intent by Perplexity is nearly double the value of the startup, which was reportedly $18 billion in a recent funding round. "This proposal is designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator focused on continuity, openness, and consumer protection," Perplexity chief executive Aravind Srinivas said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP. Google is awaiting US District Court Judge Amit Mehta's ruling on what "remedies" to impose, following a landmark decision last year that said the tech titan maintained an illegal monopoly in online search. US government attorneys have called for Google to divest itself of the Chrome browser, contending that artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the tech giant's dominance as the go-to window into the internet. Google has urged Mehta to reject the divestment, and his decision is expected by the end of the month. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Perplexity's offer vastly undervalues Chrome and "should not be taken seriously," Baird Equity Research analysts said in a note to investors. Given that Perplexity already has a browser that competes with Chrome, the San Francisco-based startup could be trying to spark others to bid or "influence the pending decision" in the antitrust case, Baird analysts theorized. "Either way, we believe Perplexity would view an independent Chrome -- or one no longer affiliated with Google -- as an advantage as it attempts to take browser share," Baird analysts told investors. Google contends that the United States has gone way beyond the scope of the suit by recommending a spinoff of Chrome, and holding open the option to force a sale of its Android mobile operating system. "Forcing the sale of Chrome or banning default agreements wouldn't foster competition," said Cato Institute senior fellow in technology policy Jennifer Huddleston. "It would hobble innovation, hurt smaller players, and leave users with worse products." Google attorney John Schmidtlein noted in court that more than 80 percent of Chrome users are outside the United States, meaning divestiture would have global ramifications. "Any divested Chrome would be a shadow of the current Chrome," he contended. "And once we are in that world, I don't see how you can say anybody is better off." The potential of Chrome being weakened or spun off comes as rivals such as Microsoft, ChatGPT and Perplexity put generative artificial intelligence (AI) to work fetching information from the internet in response to user queries. Google is among the tech companies investing heavily to be a leader in AI, and is weaving the technology into search and other online offerings.

Conservative-leaning Perplexity AI makes shock bid for Google Chrome

The Truth Social integrated AI firm made an unexpected €29 billion offer for the world's most popular web browser as Google faces possible antitrust action in the US. Perplexity AI, one of the leading AI platforms along with ChatGPT, Claude and Google Gemini, made an unsolicited bid to purchase the Chrome browser as Google faces charges in US courts of having a monopoly on online searches. In a letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Google's parent company, Perplexity offered $34.5 billion (€29bn) in cash for Chrome, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The offer is particularly shocking because Perplexity is "only" worth $18 billion (€15.35bn). Perplexity's spokesperson confirmed the all-cash offer reported by the Wall Street Journal. The AI platform delivers responses in conversational language it says is easy for the public to understand, setting itself apart from Google and Bing by skipping SEO-driven ranked link lists, and from ChatGPT or Gemini by using live searches instead of static snapshots of the internet. Earlier in August, Truth Social -- the social media platform owned by US President Donald Trump -- announced it was beta-testing integrating Perplexity AI into its search engine as Truth Search AI. While Perplexity maintains that it only provides the underlying technology for Truth Search AI and does not control "editorial" decisions, Truth Search has so far favoured conservative sources such as Fox News, The Epoch Times and The Federalist. While often framed as politically neutral, phrases like "democratising knowledge" -- which Perplexity have said they plan to do -- have also been co-opted in some right-wing tech and media circles to suggest breaking perceived gatekeeper control and giving "the people" unfettered access to information outside of mainstream institutions. In one of the biggest anti-monopoly cases of the modern tech era, United States vs. Google LLC, a US district judge ruled in August 2024 that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly on search engines in violation with the Sherman Act. Namely, Google had used illegal means or those in opposition to open, free market practices to maintain dominance by spending billions of dollars per year to make itself the default search engine on Apple's Safari browsers and Android devices, making it impossible for competitors such as Bing or DuckDuckGo to reach users at any significant scale. This locked Google into a dominance loop that others were unable to break into. Being the default browser brought Google more users, which gave it more data to make its search and ads better, which would then encourage people to keep using Google -- making it even harder for anyone else to catch up. After the August 2024 ruling, the case moved into a remedies phase where the US Justice Department proposed structural fixes -- including forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser, end default search deals and share search data with rivals. In November of last year, Judge Amit Mehta rejected Google's attempt to dismiss some of the some of those proposals, which kept a potential Chrome divestiture on the table and set the stage for final remedy hearings in 2025 -- which is where the Perplexity offer came in. Perplexity's leadership has explicitly named Google as a rival. In an interview for TIME magazine in April of last year, CEO Aravind Srinivas said that Google was its "main competitor" and that Google's ad-based profit model prevents the integration of AI responses into search. Because Google's search business depends on showing ads alongside search results or links, replacing those results with quick, AI-generated answers -- which is what Perplexity does -- could undercut Google's revenue. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is an investor in Perplexity, and the company relies on Microsoft's Azure AI platform for its infrastructure. While Perplexity claims to have secured "multiple unnamed funds" to support its all-cash bid for Chrome, there's so far no indication that either Bezos or Microsoft is directly financing the bid.

Perplexity's bid to buy Chrome is likely more stunt than strategy

The AI search startup Perplexity has tendered an unsolicited offer to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. The bid comes as the Justice Department has asked a federal judge to require Google to sell off Chrome to end an ongoing antitrust case. But it's questionable that a startup valued at half that amount on paper ($18 billion) can afford to buy Chrome; and Google, of course, almost certainly has no intention of selling it -- at least not yet. (Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.) A federal court in Washington, D.C., decided last year that Google holds a monopoly in the internet search and advertising markets and is now considering a Department of Justice demand that the search giant sell off its Chrome browser. Google called the DOJ proposal "wildly overbroad" and part of a "radical interventionist agenda" (language that could draw some negative attention from the Trump administration). Perplexity testified in that same case last spring, at which time it expressed a desire to buy Chrome. OpenAI also testified, and its ChatGPT product lead, Nick Turley, testified that his company would be interested in buying Chrome if the court required Google to sell.

Can Perplexity actually buy Google Chrome for $34.5bn?

Perplexity co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas. Image: TechCrunch via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) The offer comes as the US Department of Justice is pushing for Google to divest from Chrome. AI search engine Perplexity has made an unsolicited $34.5bn offer to purchase Google's Chrome browser despite being valued at $18bn. The terms of Perplexity's proposed deal include a promise to keep Chrome's engine Chromium open source and make an additional investment of $3bn into the project. Perplexity also promises to leave Google as the default search engine in Chrome, rather than replace it with its own AI-powered option. The offer comes as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) pushed for Google to divest from Chrome this April after last year's ruling, in which a US court determined that the Alphabet-owned company is a search monopolist. However, Google seems to want to keep Chrome, which could be valued at "upwards of $50bn" according to competitors with around 3.45bn users worldwide. The company's lawyers, earlier this year, called the DOJ's anti-trust remedies against Chrome "extreme" and "fundamentally flawed". Although, the bigger question here is whether Perplexity can actually purchase Chrome. According to some publications, the company has said that several investors are interested in backing this deal. Plus, this isn't the first time Perplexity has offered to buy the browser. The company made a similar offer alongside OpenAI earlier this year during Google's anti-trust hearing. But some suggest that the move is a "PR offer" and a "marketing stunt", comparing the proposal to Perplexity's offer to purchase TikTok earlier this January just before the short-form video sharing app was due to be banned from the US. The company's offer to purchase TikTok US, which it submitted to its parent company ByteDance, was to create a new merged entity by combining the two companies along with new capital partners. Nothing has come out of that proposal yet. Regardless of the outcome of this latest offer, Perplexity poses a threat to established browsers such as Chrome. Last month, the company released Comet, an AI-powered browser, which is already in strong demand, according to its co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas. The company is backed by major names such as Nvidia, Softbank and Amazon's Jeff Bezos. However, the AI Search start-up also faces strong criticism. Earlier this month, Perplexity's crawler was de-listed from leading internet security player Cloudflare as a verified bot. Cloudflare, which protects an estimated 24m websites, said that Perplexity was employing "stealth crawling behaviour", accusing the company of circumventing website preferences by obscuring their crawling identity. This is not the first time Perplexity has been accused of unfair 'scraping' of content. The BBC threatened in June to take legal action against Perplexity, accusing the start-up of scraping its content to train AI models, and previous complaints have come from the Dow Jones and The New York Times. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news. Perplexity co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas. Image: TechCrunch via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Perplexity AI makes daring $34.5B all-cash bid for Google's Chrome browser - SiliconANGLE

Perplexity AI makes daring $34.5B all-cash bid for Google's Chrome browser Generative artificial intelligence search startup Perplexity AI Inc. today offered a bid to purchase Google LLC's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion in an unsolicited all-cash offer. The Wall Street Journal reported that although Perplexity's offer exceeds the company's valuation, estimated at $18 billion after its latest funding round, the company said several investors, including "large venture-capital funds," have agreed to back the transaction in full. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors, including Nvidia Corp. and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. The company is best known for its flagship search product, which provides rich answers from web searches in paragraph form, including citations, and allows users to input conversation-style English questions. Perplexity also recently introduced its own web browser, named Comet, based on Chromium, the open-source software engine that underpins Chrome. Comet extends Chromium with Perplexity's AI-powered features, including web search set as the default, and a sidebar that provides access to an AI assistant that can automate a variety of browser actions. The bid offer comes at a time when Google is facing antitrust action from the United States government over its stranglehold on web search. Last year, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in the search text advertising markets. During the remedy phase, the portion of the trial where the government decides how the monopoly can be settled to restore competition, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has been deciding whether or not to force Google to sell Chrome. In testimony this year, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said that selling Chrome to rivals would harm the company's business. Buying Chrome would provide the startup access to Chrome's more than three billion users, a significant jump in cornering the AI search market. The company stated that if it wins the bid, it will maintain the browser as open source and will not alter its underlying code. Additionally, it will not change its default search engine and invest $3 billion over two years, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. This is assuming that Google is willing to part with Chrome, which seems unlikely, and appears intent to engage in a lengthy legal battle to maintain its grip on the product instead. According to industry estimates, Perplexity's bid may also be below the potential enterprise market rate for Chrome, which was estimated at around $50 billion in value by rival search engine Duck Duck Go Inc. CEO Gabriel Weinberg. Perplexity is not the only enterprise outfit to put eyes on Chrome; Sam Altman's OpenAI also spoke during the trial that it might be interested in purchasing the software from Google. Yahoo Inc. and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also shown interest in the web browser.

Perplexity Makes an Unexpected Offer of $34.5 Bn to Acquire Google's Chrome Browser

Positioning itself as a potential buyer, Perplexity has sent out a signal amid ongoing antitrust scrutiny The AI startup Perplexity announced on August 12 that it intends to acquire Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion as part of its efforts to compete with the tech giant's dominance in web search, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. Perplexity's bid is notably higher than its own estimated valuation of $18 billion. The company has told WSJ that investors, including major venture-capital firms, have committed to support the deal. According to the report, valuations for Chrome's enterprise value are quite variable, with recent estimates falling between $20 billion and $50 billion. Tech investor and start-up founder Heath Ahrens called Perplexity's move a "stunt" and said its valuation was nowhere near Chrome's true value, given its unmatched data and reach, according to the BBC. Google is facing two antitrust lawsuits in the US as its dominance in search comes under scrutiny. Perplexity seems to have sent out a signal that a potential buyer is available, should the court mandate a sale. In a letter addressed to the Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, Perplexity stated that its proposal to purchase Chrome is "designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in the highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator." Google has not shown any indication that it is open to selling Chrome. During testimony this year, Pichai told the judge that requiring the company to either sell the browser or share data with competitors would negatively impact Google's business, discourage investments in new technologies, and possibly pose security threats. Additionally, US District Judge Amit Mehta is considering whether to compel Google to divest the browser in order to diminish Google's control over web search. Last year, Mehta ruled that Google had unlawfully monopolised the search market and is expected to make a decision this month regarding how to restore competition.

AI startup Perplexity offers to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion

In an unlikely bid that shows the growing brashness of young artificial intelligence companies, the AI startup Perplexity has made an unsolicited offer to buy Google's Chrome web browser for $34.5 billion. The tiny company made its offer against the backdrop of an upcoming antitrust decision against the tech giant. In a U.S. District Court ruling due as early as this week, Judge Amit Mehta could force Google to sell its web browser as a way of reducing the company's dominance in the internet search market. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said in a letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google's parent company, Alphabet, that its offer to buy the Chrome browser was "designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator." Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Perplexity's offer was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal. Perplexity is among the many companies that want to challenge Google's search engine through online chatbots and similar technologies that respond to queries with short sentences rather than just a list of links. The Chrome browser could give it an edge among Google's many challengers, including Microsoft, OpenAI and Silicon Valley startup You.com. But the unsolicited bid is a long shot, since Perplexity itself is valued at an estimated $18 billion. Jesse Dwyer, a spokesperson for the company, told The New York Times that outside investors had agreed to back a potential deal. Mehta ruled last year that Google had violated antitrust rules to maintain its dominance in the search market. The Justice Department has pushed for the federal court to force Google to sell its Chrome browser in a series of aggressive remedy proposals after prevailing in its antitrust case against the search giant. The department has argued that forcing Google to divest itself of Chrome and share search results and ads with rivals would create more competition. The government told Mehta that Google's monopoly -- it controls about 90% of the search market -- could not be remedied without forceful structural changes to the company. And without a remedy like the sale of Chrome, Google is poised to dominate AI, the government argued. "This court's remedy should be forward looking and not ignore what's on the horizon," said David Dahlquist, the government's lead litigator. "Google is using the same strategy that they did for search and now applying it to Gemini," he added, referring to Google's AI technology. Google has argued against the sale of Chrome, proposing smaller tweaks to its business model. Perplexity and other AI companies testified in April during the antitrust remedies hearing by Mehta that it was interested in buying Chrome. Perplexity was founded in 2022 by a group of AI researchers including Srinivas, who previously worked at OpenAI. In an effort to boost use of its AI-powered search engine, the company has started to offer a web browser of its own, called Comet. The Times sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter last year demanding that the company stop using its content to help power its AI technologies.

AI startup Perplexity makes $52.8b bid for Google's Chrome browser

San Francisco | AI startup Perplexity said it made a formal offer to acquire Google's Chrome browser for $US34.5 billion ($52.8 billion), in anticipation of requirements that may be imposed on the search giant in antitrust proceedings. The unsolicited bid was sent to Alphabet's Google on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), a Perplexity spokesperson said. It comes not long after rival artificial intelligence startup OpenAI also expressed interest in acquiring Chrome, which together with the open-source Chromium software is the main way people access the web on PCs.

Perplexity offers $34.5B to buy Chrome from Google - Phandroid

AI startup Perplexity has made a bold Perplexity Chrome acquisition bid, offering $34.5 billion in cash to buy the browser from Google. The move comes as the U.S. Department of Justice continues to pressure Google to sell Chrome following its 2024 antitrust ruling. The Wall Street Journal says Perplexity's offer is almost double its own $18 billion valuation. The company calls it a serious proposal backed by major venture capital firms. Executives claim they can secure the funds if Google accepts. Analysts estimate Chrome's value at $20-50 billion. If the deal happens, Chromium will still be maintained. This open-source base powers Chrome and other browsers like Microsoft Edge, DuckDuckGo, Opera, and Electron-based apps. Perplexity already uses Chromium for its Comet browser, which focuses on AI integration. Buying Chrome would give Perplexity access to more than 3.5 billion users. That reach could help it challenge Apple's Safari on mobile and change the global browser market. Rumors suggest Apple has considered acquiring Perplexity. If Apple bought Perplexity after a Perplexity Chrome acquisition, it could gain control over one of the world's most-used browsers. That would give Apple a huge edge in both web browsing and online advertising. Google continues to reject any plan to sell Chrome. Executives warn that a sale could harm user security and disrupt its data collection systems. The company has pushed back against DOJ demands and voiced concerns over how another owner might handle user data. Right now, Google shows no sign of accepting Perplexity's offer. But future regulatory pressure could change that. If it happens, the sale would be one of the biggest and most controversial acquisitions in tech history.

AI Startup Perplexity Makes Bold $34.5 Billion Bid for Google's Chrome Browser

Perplexity AI made a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's Chrome browser on Tuesday, a bid far above its own valuation as the startup reaches for the browser's billions of users pivotal to the AI search race. Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers: it made a similar one for TikTok US in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve U.S. concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership. OpenAI, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry. Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a U.S. court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, Perplexity said, without naming the funds. Alphabet's shares were up 1.6 percent in afternoon trading. As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf and buying Chrome would allow it to tap the browser's more than three billion users, giving it the heft to better compete with bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent is also working on its own AI browser. Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The company said the offer, with no equity component, would preserve user choice and ease future competition concerns. Analysts have said Google would be unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome, given it is crucial to the company's AI push as it rolls out features including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to help defend its search market share. A federal judge, Amit Mehta, is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case sometime this month. "Judge Mehta is a pretty orthodox guy. It's very possible that he would hold off on requiring a sale until the appeals process is worked out and that could be a very lengthy period of time," said Herbert Hovenkamp, professor at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. "It would go to the DC Circuit, which is skeptical of forced divestitures, and it's possible it would even go to the Supreme Court after that. So that process could run out for a couple of years." Perplexity's bid is also below the at least $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google was forced to sell it. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Krystal Hu in New York; editing by Devika Syamnath. The preferred-rate deadline for the 2025 Inc. Best in Business Awards is this Friday, August 15, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

AI Startup Perplexity Reportedly Offers $34.5 Billion for Google's Chrome Browser

Kara Greenberg is a senior news editor for Investopedia, where she does work writing, editing, and assigning daily markets and investing news. Prior to joining Investopedia, Kara was a researcher and editor at The Wire. Earlier in her career, she worked in financial compliance and due diligence at Loomis, Sayles & Company, and The Bank of New York Mellon. AI startup Perplexity is offering to buy Google's Chrome, according to a report on Tuesday. The offer from Perplexity comes as Google's parent company, Alphabet (GOOGL), faces uncertainty from an antitrust ruling that could be announced as soon as this week, with a federal judge set to decide what steps Google must take, a year after the company was found to have maintained an illegal monopoly in search. Forcing a sale of Google's Chrome could be part of the decision, something the Department of Justice pushed for last year. Google has since argued that a forced sale could harm its business, hold back its ability to develop new technology, and pose a risk to national security, among other things. It's proposed to adjust exclusive agreements with Apple (AAPL), among other solutions, which could allow more competition. Google has stated that it will appeal the August 2024 monopoly ruling, as well as the remedy decision. Some Wall Street analysts have said they view a forced sale as unlikely, with JPMorgan analysts telling clients late last month that they anticipate "prohibition of exclusionary practices & preloading of Google Search (i.e., no exclusive search default on any access point), and not much more." Separately, a federal judge ruled in April that Google also has illegally maintained monopolies in the digital advertising sector, which the company said it would appeal.

Perplexity Reportedly Offers to Buy Google Chrome for $34.5 Billion

The offer is higher than the AI startup's own valuation of $18 billion Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity on Tuesday launched an audacious bid to buy the Google Chrome browser in its entirety, according to a report. The Aravind Srinivas-led company is said to have offered Google $34.5 billion (roughly Rs. 3.02 lakh crore) for the rights to the world's most popular web browser, a sum which is even higher than Perplexity's own valuation. This development comes amidst the successful anti-trust case against the Alphabet-owned company for benefiting from a search monopoly and the ongoing pressure to sell. Perplexity's Offer to Buy Google Chrome According to a Bloomberg report, Perplexity aims to fund the bid with the help of investors from the outside. However, the $34.5 billion (roughly Rs. 3.02 lakh crore) offer is said to be higher than the AI startup's valuation itself. "Multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full", Dmitry Shevelenko, Chief Business Officer at Perplexity told the publication. The AI company was last valued at $18 billion (roughly Rs. 1.57 lakh crore), following the recent funding round in July where it raised a fresh capital of $100 million (roughly Rs. 875 crore). In a statement given to TechCrunch, the Aravind Srinivas-led company seemingly confirmed the offer. Perplexity reportedly said that its offer includes a commitment to keep Chrome's core engine, which is Chromium, open source and a promise of continued investment of about $3 billion (roughly Rs. 0.26 lakh crore). Further, the AI startup also promised not to change user defaults even if its bid is successful. As per the report, Google will remain as the default search engine on Chrome instead of making Perplexity's AI-powered search the default option. It remains to be seen whether Google has plans of selling the web browser. The Alphabet-owned company has been under scrutiny following a successful ruling in favour of the US Department of Justice in an antitrust case which said that Google had struck anti-competitive deals with companies such as Apple to position its search engine ahead of others. Following this ruling, the US government reportedly said that it wants Google to sell the Chrome browser, while also licensing search data to competitors and stop payments for exclusive promotions on other services and devices. Interestingly, Perplexity already has a browser called Comet which supports AI agents that can perform tasks on behalf of the user. The company has made bold claims about it too, such as it could make recruiters go extinct by doing one week's worth of tasks with a single prompt. A previous report suggested that the company had plans of reaching "tens to hundreds of millions" users by 2026 with its AI-powered browser. It was said to be in talks with smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to pre-load the Comet browser on their devices.

An AI Startup Just Made an Unsolicited $34.5 Billion Bid for Chrome. Here's Why a Sale Could Happen, Whether Google Wants It or Not.

Perplexity AI, an $18 billion startup whose AI-powered search engine links out to original sources, just made an unsolicited offer to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal was first to report. According to the WSJ report, Perplexity said its offer to buy Chrome is "designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator." "Multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full," Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko said, per Bloomberg. Related: Everyone Wants to Buy Google's Chrome Browser -- Including OpenAI, According to a Top ChatGPT Executive Chrome could be valued anywhere between $20 to $50 billion according to analysts, but it isn't exactly for sale. Google might not have a choice, though. In August 2024, a federal judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized the online search and search ads markets, writing in a 286-page opinion that "Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly" through exclusive agreements. One remedy suggested by the DOJ was for the tech giant to sell its Chrome browser. A judge is expected to decide by the end of August what Alphabet must do. Google is appealing part of the rulings and has indicated they are not interested in selling Chrome. But that doesn't mean there isn't a slew of potential buyers. In April, a judge asked ChatGPT's Head of Product Nick Turley if OpenAI would try to buy Chrome if parent company Alphabet was forced to divest, and he said a definite yes. Related: Firefox Would Like to Remind Everyone It Exists and 'Isn't Backed By a Billionaire' "Yes, we would, as would many other parties," Turley said in court, adding that ChatGPT and Chrome combined would give his company the chance to offer an "incredible experience" that's "AI-first." Perplexity AI is based in San Francisco and was founded in 2022. The startup is preparing the wide release of its own browser, Comet, though the company said it wouldn't make any "stealth modifications" to Chrome if the deal went through. Perplexity's formal bid also said it would "extend offers to a substantial portion of Chrome talent." At press time, Google Chrome has around 68% of the web browser market share (Safari is No. 2 with nearly 16%, Microsoft Edge has 5%, and Firefox has 2.5%). Perplexity AI also submitted a bid of at least $50 billion to buy TikTok in January, per CNBC.

Perplexity Google Chrome bid: All you need to know about the $34.5 billion offer - The Economic Times

Perplexity AI Chrome browser bid: Perplexity AI has made a $34.5 billion unsolicited offer to buy Google's Chrome browser, aiming to gain an edge in AI search. The bid comes amid US antitrust pressure on Google, with a court ruling expected soon. Perplexity, valued at $14 billion, has yet to disclose full funding details.Perplexity AI said it has made a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer to buy Alphabet's Chrome browser, a bold move considering the startup's own valuation is far lower. The deal would give Perplexity access to Chrome's more than three billion users, positioning it strongly in the growing AI search market as regulators continue to challenge Google's market dominance. According to The New York Times, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas wrote to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, stating that the offer was "designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator focused on continuity, openness, and consumer protection". Perplexity AI bid for Google Chrome Perplexity AI has made the $34.5 billion all-cash offer to acquire Google's Chrome browser despite being valued at just $14 billion. The bid comes amid growing regulatory pressure on Alphabet, with US authorities seeking a potential Chrome divestiture due to antitrust concerns. Chrome, with over three billion users, is central to the AI-driven search market, and Perplexity aims to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, while investing $3 billion over two years. Analysts suggest a sale is unlikely without a prolonged legal battle. Where will the funds come from? Perplexity has not yet explained how it plans to finance the proposed purchase. The company, founded three years ago, has raised about $1 billion so far from investors such as Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. However, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that several investment funds have come forward and offered to fully back the deal, though the names of these funds have not been disclosed. Context A ruling by US District Court Judge Amit Mehta, who is hearing the antitrust case against Google, is expected soon, and may well force the search giant to sell the Chrome browser. The decision is part of efforts to address Google's dominance in online search. Last year, Mehta ruled that Google violated antitrust laws to maintain its lead in the market. Following that ruling, the US Justice Department submitted proposals urging the court to require Google to sell Chrome as a solution. The government argued that Google's near-total control of the search market, around 90%, cannot be reduced without such a structural change. It warned that without selling Chrome, Google would dominate the AI space. Google has pushed back against this suggestion, offering smaller adjustments to its business model instead of a sale. The company has urged Mehta to reject the proposed divestment. A final ruling is expected by the end of the month.

AI upstart Perplexity shocks tech world with $34.5 billion bid to snatch Google Chrome

Perplexity Chrome latest news: In a surprising move that's rippling through the tech world, artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion offer to acquire Google's Chrome browser, as per a report. The bold bid is notable not just for its size, as it exceeds Perplexity's own valuation, but also for its timing. The startup, which was valued at $18 billion in July after an earlier $14 billion valuation, said that it has secured support from several investors to back the offer, as reported by CNBC. Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine, designed to answer users' questions clearly while linking to original source material on the web, according to the report. Just last month, the company launched its own browser, called Comet, powered by the same AI-driven approach, as per the CNBC report. ALSO READ: Is it AI or Trump's policies? US sees brutal 140% layoff spike in July, worst surge since early COVID chaos The AI firm is fighting to keep pace with AI giants like Meta and OpenAI, raising billions of dollars from venture investors, hedge funds and tech giants to pay for the hardware and headcount needed to compete, while a potential buyout from Meta fell through earlier this year, according to the report. The startup's offer comes amid Google's ongoing legal troubles, as the US Department of Justice had proposed that Google divest Chrome as part of an antitrust suit the tech giant lost last year, and the judge ruled that Google had held an illegal monopoly in internet search, as reported by CNBC. ALSO READ: Giant Wyoming data center to guzzle 5x more power than residents, but the user remains secret The DOJ had highlighted that divesting Chrome, which Google launched in 2008 to provide the search giant with data it then uses for targeting ads, would prevent Google from continuing to control a critical entry point to the internet, and would give rival search engines a fairer shot at competing, according to the report. In a court filing, the DOJ wrote that, "To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google's control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet," as quoted by CNBC. ALSO READ: Is Google's AI revolution a threat to website traffic for digital publishers? Here are strategies to stay ahead Google has pushed back and even called the DOJ's proposal "wildly overbroad", accusing the agency of pursuing a "radical interventionist agenda," as per the report. However, the tech company has not yet revealed any plans of it will adjust its business in response to the ruling, according to the CNBC report. ALSO READ: As the July jobs report paints a grim picture, 114 companies plan layoffs in August - is yours on the list? How much did Perplexity offer to buy Google Chrome? Perplexity made an unsolicited bid of $34.5 billion for Google's Chrome browser, as per the CNBC report. Why is Perplexity interested in Chrome? Chrome is a major gateway to the internet, and owning it would give Perplexity a powerful position in search and browsing.

AI startup Perplexity makes bold $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser - The Economic Times

Buying Chrome would allow the startup to tap the browser's more than three billion users for an edge in the AI search race as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry.Perplexity AI said it has made a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's Chrome browser, a low but bold bid that would need financing well above the startup's own valuation. Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers - it made a similar one for TikTok US in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve U.S. concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership. Buying Chrome would allow the startup to tap the browser's more than three billion users for an edge in the AI search race as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry. Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a US court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, a person familiar with the matter said, without naming the funds. As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf and acquiring Chrome would give it the heft to better compete against bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent has also expressed interest in buying Chrome and is working on its own AI browser. Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The company said the offer, with no equity component, would preserve user choice and ease future competition concerns. Analysts have said Google would be unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome, given it is crucial to the company's AI push as it rolls out features including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to help defend its search market share. A federal judge is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case sometime this month. Perplexity's bid is also below the at least $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google was forced to sell it. Besides OpenAI and Perplexity, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome.

Google Chrome Targeted In $34.5B Bid By AI Rival Perplexity Amid Antitrust Case: Report - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Shares of Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG are on watch after AI-startup Perplexity offered to purchase its cornerstone Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, according to a WSJ report. What To Know: The longshot bid comes as a U.S. District Judge considers remedies after ruling Google illegally monopolized the search market, with a forced sale of the browser being a possible, though unlikely, outcome. Perplexity's offer may be an attempt to signal to the judge that an interested buyer exists for Chrome should a sale be forced. Per the WSJ report, Google has not indicated any willingness to sell its browser, which accounts for over 60% of the global market. Perplexity is a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence startup founded in 2022 that aims to challenge Google's web-search dominance. The company recently released its own web browser, named Comet. What Else: This move adds to the narrative of AI challenging Google's dominance, though the company's core business remains strong. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities recently stated, "The death of search is greatly exaggerated," citing robust second-quarter earnings where search business sales grew 10% to $71.3 billion. This financial strength persists even as 91% of fund managers in a Bank of America survey view US stocks as overvalued, the highest reading since 2001. Meanwhile, Google continues to push its own AI initiatives, such as a partnership with NASA on an AI "Space Doctor," while its DeepMind CEO acknowledges that inconsistency in AI remains a key roadblock toward developing more advanced artificial general intelligence. Benzinga Edge Rankings: According to recent Benzinga Edge stock rankings for GOOGL, the company demonstrates particular strength in its Quality score, which is rated at an impressive 85.40. The stock also shows solid potential in Growth and Momentum, with scores of 73.36 and 72.29, respectively. Its lowest-rated category is Value, which is scored at a more neutral 50.44, suggesting the stock is not considered a significant bargain at its current price based on this metric. Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, GOOGL shares are trading higher by 1.5% to $204.64 Tuesday afternoon. The stock has a 52-week high of $207.05 and a 52-week low of $140.53. Read Also: BigBear.AI Stock Is Tumbling Tuesday: Here's Why How To Buy GOOGL Stock By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Alphabet - be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company. Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy "fractional shares," which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to "go short" a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading - either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline. Image: Shutterstock GOOGLAlphabet Inc$204.001.49%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum72.29Growth73.36Quality85.40Value50.44Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGOOGAlphabet Inc$204.711.53% This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Perplexity Offers Google $34.5 Billion for Chrome Browser

What would it take for a company to challenge one of the most iconic tech products of the modern era? Perplexity AI, a rising star in artificial intelligence, has stunned the industry with its audacious $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google Chrome. This unsolicited offer, nearly double Perplexity's own valuation, has sparked heated debates about the future of web browsing, the growing influence of AI, and the shifting balance of power in Silicon Valley. At a time when Google faces mounting antitrust scrutiny, this bold move raises a tantalizing question: could the world's most popular browser soon change hands? For tech enthusiasts and industry insiders alike, this proposal is more than just a financial gamble -- it's a potential inflection point in the evolution of how we interact with the web. Below, the Bloomberg Technology team explores the motivations behind Perplexity's unprecedented offer and what it reveals about the company's ambitions to redefine the browser market. From its vision of an AI-powered Chrome that anticipates user needs to the legal and financial hurdles that could derail the deal, this story is as much about innovation as it is about risk. You'll gain insights into how Perplexity plans to integrate its innovative AI into Chrome's infrastructure, the potential ripple effects on competitors, and the broader implications for user privacy and competition. Whether this bid succeeds or not, it's a bold statement about the fantastic power of artificial intelligence -- and a glimpse into the high-stakes strategies shaping the future of tech. Perplexity's interest in Chrome goes beyond acquiring a popular browser. The company envisions using Chrome's dominant global market share to integrate its advanced AI capabilities. With Chrome as a platform, Perplexity aims to create a browser that doesn't just display information but actively anticipates user needs, offers contextual insights, and simplifies online interactions. This vision reflects a broader ambition to redefine how you interact with the web. By embedding AI into the browsing experience, Perplexity seeks to transform Chrome into a tool that adapts to your preferences and enhances productivity. However, the offer is unsolicited, and Google has shown no indication of being willing to sell Chrome. This raises significant questions about whether such a deal could materialize, especially given the complexities of acquiring such a high-profile asset. The timing of Perplexity's bid is closely tied to Google's ongoing antitrust challenges. Google is under scrutiny from regulators worldwide, with a potential ruling from Judge Amit Mehta that could force the company to divest certain assets, including Chrome. For you, this could mean a significant shift in how web browsers and search engines operate, potentially opening the door for new players to reshape the market. Perplexity's proposal aligns with these external pressures, positioning the company as a potential buyer if Google is compelled to sell Chrome. However, no legal mandate currently requires Google to divest Chrome, making this bid speculative. The uncertainty surrounding the antitrust case adds another layer of complexity to Perplexity's ambitious plan. For users and developers, the outcome of this legal battle could have far-reaching implications for competition and innovation in the tech industry. Here are more guides from our previous articles and guides related to Perplexity AI that you may find helpful. One of the most pressing questions surrounding this bid is whether Perplexity has the financial resources to execute such a massive acquisition. The company has stated that it has backing from major investment funds, but its current financial standing raises doubts. To date, Perplexity has raised just $1 billion -- only a fraction of the proposed $34.5 billion purchase price. To bridge this gap, Perplexity would need to secure unprecedented levels of funding. This could involve partnerships with private equity firms, strategic investors, or even public offerings. For you as an observer, this raises concerns about the financial stability and long-term viability of such a deal. Could Perplexity's ambition outpace its ability to deliver? The financial challenges alone make this bid one of the most daring moves in recent tech history. At the core of Perplexity's bid is a vision to transform Chrome into an AI-driven browser. Imagine a browser that not only displays search results but also predicts your needs, offers tailored recommendations, and simplifies your online interactions. This aligns with Perplexity's broader strategy to dominate the AI-powered web technology space. Interestingly, Perplexity is already developing its own browser, Comet, which could serve as a fallback option if the Chrome acquisition does not materialize. Comet represents Perplexity's commitment to innovation and its determination to push the boundaries of what a browser can do. For users and developers, this dual approach highlights the company's focus on creating innovative solutions, regardless of the outcome of its bid for Chrome. If the acquisition succeeds, Perplexity has pledged to invest $3 billion over the next two years to enhance Chrome and its underlying Chromium platform. These funds would be allocated to improving browser functionality, strengthening security measures, and integrating advanced AI features. For developers, this could open up new opportunities to build on a more robust and innovative platform. For users, it promises a more seamless and intelligent browsing experience. Perplexity has also committed to retaining Chrome's existing talent, making sure continuity and using their expertise to drive future advancements. This focus on investment and talent retention underscores Perplexity's intent to maintain Chrome's leadership in the browser market while pushing it into new frontiers. Despite its ambitious vision, Perplexity faces significant hurdles. The financial gap between its current resources and the proposed acquisition price is vast, requiring substantial external funding. Additionally, Google's willingness to sell Chrome remains highly uncertain. Even if antitrust pressures mount, there is no guarantee that Chrome would be the asset Google chooses to divest. For you as a stakeholder in the tech ecosystem, these challenges highlight the complexities of large-scale acquisitions in a competitive and heavily regulated market. The outcome of this bid could set a precedent for how companies navigate such high-stakes scenarios in the future. It also raises broader questions about the role of AI in shaping the next generation of web technologies. Perplexity's bid represents a potential turning point in the web browser landscape, with AI integration at its core. If successful, it could redefine how browsers function, making them more intelligent, adaptive, and user-centric. This development also underscores the growing influence of AI in shaping the future of technology, raising important questions about competition, innovation, and user privacy. For users, developers, and industry observers, this bid serves as a reminder of the rapid pace of change in the tech world. Whether Perplexity can overcome the financial, legal, and strategic hurdles to execute its vision remains uncertain. However, the proposal itself highlights the fantastic potential of AI and its role in driving the next wave of technological innovation.

Perplexity AI Has Reportedly Made A $34.5 Billion Bid For Google Chrome, Commits To Continuing The Chromium Project

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy. Perplexity AI might have just presented Alphabet/Google with a palatable route to resolving ongoing antitrust issues in relation to the ubiquitous Chrome browser. Alphabet and Google have faced a number of antitrust lawsuits in recent years. In 2022, the European General Court largely upheld the European Commission's €4.3 billion fine against the tech giant for abusing its Android dominance by requiring device makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome. In September 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice took Google to trial in Washington, DC, alleging anti-competitive practices for maintaining its position as the default search engine on browsers and smartphones through substantial payments to partners such as Apple. State attorneys general pursued parallel antitrust suits, focusing on Google's advertising business and exclusionary agreements. US District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled back in 2024 that Alphabet's Google violated antitrust laws by maintaining an illegal monopoly in the search sphere. This then spawned a remedy trial that concluded in early May, 2025. While a terminal remedy is yet to be decided by Judge Mehta, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) wants Alphabet to divest the Chrome browser and its accompanying open-source Chromium project. While the DOJ has already lined up potential Chrome buyers, including Yahoo, OpenAI, and Perplexity, Alphabet has continued to insist that a divestiture of Chrome would compromise user privacy and security, especially as Google's proprietary technology remains deeply embedded within the browser. Judge Mehta is expected to deliver a ruling by August 2025. Thereafter, Alphabet is widely expected to appeal the decision while simultaneously pushing for an injunction against its implementation. Separately, Alphabet also faces a remedy trial in Google's ad tech case, where again the search giant was found liable for maintaining an illegal monopoly. Finally, Alphabet faces antitrust repercussions in Epic vs. Google case, where a federal jury concluded in December 2023 that Google maintained a monopoly on Android app distribution and in-app billing services. This brings us to the core of today's topic. The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Perplexity AI has submitted a $34.5 billion bid for Google Chrome. While we do not definitively know Chrome's enterprise value, recent estimates have ranged between $20 billion and $50 billion. Interestingly, Perplexity AI's bid falls nearly in the middle of this range. To sweeten its offer, Perplexity AI is offering a commitment to Google to maintain its open-source Chromium project. Do note, however, that Google hasn't communicated any willingness to accept Perplexity AI's offer and, therefore, a deal is unlikely to materialize, at this stage at least.

Could Perplexity's $34.5 Billion Offer for Chrome Ignite the Biggest Shift in Search Since Google Itself? | The Motley Fool

This is more than a symbolic transaction: it's a $34.5 billion offer to completely transform how information is accessed. Let's discuss why this acquisition offer is so important, and what it could mean for the dynamics of internet search -- which hasn't witnessed serious, existential disruption since Alphabet released Google nearly three decades ago. Launched in 2022, Perplexity is a large language model (LLM) that competes heavily with industry leaders such as ChatGPT, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Mistral AI, and xAI's Grok. Backed by more than $1 billion in capital from a mix of venture capital (VC) firms such as Bessemer Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates, as well as strategic backers like Nvidia, SoftBank, and Databricks, Perplexity boasts a reported valuation of $18 billion -- making its offer for Chrome even more outrageous. According to data compiled by FirstPageSage, ChatGPT is the most widely used chatbot -- boasting an estimated 60% market share -- while Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini each hold about 14% market share. Perplexity ranks fourth with about half the market presence of Copilot and Gemini. One of Perplexity's differentiators over other LLMs is that answers to queries can actually appear as indexed webpages on Google Search -- a feature that blends both conversational AI and traditional search protocols. This capability could be one of the core inspirations surrounding Perplexity's interest in owning Chrome. Ironically, I recently wrote an article in which I posited the idea of Apple acquiring Perplexity and integrating the LLM into its Safari search browser. Chrome is far more valuable than Safari, though. Strategically speaking, I understand the theoretical logic and rationale behind why Perplexity wants Google's coveted search asset, as Chrome serves as a distribution channel for billions of users on a global scale. While Alphabet's second-quarter earnings results suggest the company still has enormous leverage when it comes to surface area on the internet, the rise of LLMs has led some industry experts to posit the idea that Google is losing its dominance in search. I suspect that any hint of waning search parameters or a crack in Google's moat gave Perplexity an excuse to try to capitalize on perceived weakness. In a scenario where Alphabet actually divested Chrome -- as unlikely as this is -- it would represent the first seismic shift in search since Google took the throne away from early disrupters such as Yahoo and Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com). While I think Perplexity's offer is more symbolic than anything, it does open the door to some interesting discussions. What I mean by that is AI developers no longer seem to be satisfied touting higher user engagement stats and nominal upgrades in performance. Rather, Perplexity and its peers are now seeking to integrate (or overtake) big tech's legacy product features and own the distribution channels on which consumers engage and access information. If Perplexity were to be the sole operator of Chrome, it could essentially redirect traffic on the internet into its native AI-driven ecosystem. I think Perplexity's bid for Chrome will ultimately motivate Alphabet to think defensively and deliver on some welcomed and potentially much-needed innovation to the search market -- which it essentially has a monopoly on. I would not be surprised if Alphabet swiftly integrates more of Gemini's generative AI capabilities across its entire ecosystem -- from Google Search, Maps, Workspace, Android, and YouTube. Taking this a step further, Alphabet could push harder in driving more enterprise subscriptions for Gemini, much in the same way Microsoft has done with Copilot. The end goal for Alphabet should be to make its AI so embedded that it eliminates the very idea of entertaining other platforms. At the end of the day, Perplexity's offer for Chrome is intentionally bold, and I don't think Alphabet is going to even blink. With that said, should AI-powered browsers emerge as the next frontier for LLMs, there is no company better-positioned than Alphabet. The bigger question is how the company will take advantage of its lucrative positioning, and whether or not it will do so proactively or wait for further competition to force its hand.

AI startup Perplexity makes bold US$34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser

Perplexity AI made a US$34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's Chrome browser on Tuesday, a bid far above its own valuation as the startup reaches for the browser's billions of users pivotal to the AI search race. Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers: it made a similar one for TikTok U.S. in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve U.S. concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership. OpenAI, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry. Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a U.S. court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The U.S. Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, Perplexity said, without naming the funds. Alphabet's shares were up 1.6 per cent in afternoon trading. As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf and buying Chrome would allow it to tap the browser's more than three billion users, giving it the heft to better compete with bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent is also working on its own AI browser. Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The company said the offer, with no equity component, would preserve user choice and ease future competition concerns. Analysts have said Google would be unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome, given it is crucial to the company's AI push as it rolls out features including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to help defend its search market share. A federal judge, Amit Mehta, is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case sometime this month. "Judge Mehta is a pretty orthodox guy. It's very possible that he would hold off on requiring a sale until the appeals process is worked out and that could be a very lengthy period of time," said Herbert Hovenkamp, professor at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. "It would go to the DC Circuit, which is skeptical of forced divestitures, and it's possible it would even go to the Supreme Court after that. So that process could run out for a couple of years." Perplexity's bid is also below the at least $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google was forced to sell it.

Perplexity AI makes wild $34.5B all-cash offer for Google Chrome...

Perplexity AI said it has made a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's Chrome browser, a low but bold bid that would need financing well above the startup's own valuation. Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers -- it made a similar one for TikTok US in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve US concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership. Buying Chrome would allow the startup to tap the browser's more than three billion users for an edge in the AI search race as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry. Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a US court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, a person familiar with the matter said, without naming the funds. As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf and acquiring Chrome would give it the heft to better compete against bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent has also expressed interest in buying Chrome and is working on its own AI browser. Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The company said the offer, with no equity component, would preserve user choice and ease future competition concerns. Analysts have said Google would be unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome, given it is crucial to the company's AI push as it rolls out features including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to help defend its search market share. A federal judge is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case sometime this month. Perplexity's bid is also below the at least $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google was forced to sell it. Besides OpenAI and Perplexity, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome.

AI startup Perplexity makes bold $34.5B bid for Google's Chrome browser - VnExpress International

Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers: it made a similar one for TikTok US in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve U.S. concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership. OpenAI, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry. Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a U.S. court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, Perplexity said, without naming the funds. Alphabet's shares were up 1.6% in afternoon trading. As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf and buying Chrome would allow it to tap the browser's more than three billion users, giving it the heft to better compete with bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent is also working on its own AI browser. Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The company said the offer, with no equity component, would preserve user choice and ease future competition concerns. Analysts have said Google would be unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome, given it is crucial to the company's AI push as it rolls out features including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to help defend its search market share. A federal judge, Amit Mehta, is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case sometime this month. "Judge Mehta is a pretty orthodox guy. It's very possible that he would hold off on requiring a sale until the appeals process is worked out and that could be a very lengthy period of time," said Herbert Hovenkamp, professor at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. "It would go to the DC Circuit, which is skeptical of forced divestitures, and it's possible it would even go to the Supreme Court after that. So that process could run out for a couple of years." Perplexity's bid is also below the at least $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google was forced to sell it.

AI startup Perplexity makes bold $34.5 billion bid for Google's Chrome browser

(Reuters) -Perplexity AI said it has made a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's Chrome browser, a low but bold bid that would need financing well above the startup's own valuation. Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers - it made a similar one for TikTok US in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve U.S. concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership. Buying Chrome would allow the startup to tap the browser's more than three billion users for an edge in the AI search race as regulatory pressure threatens Google's grip on the industry. Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a U.S. court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, a person familiar with the matter said, without naming the funds. As a new generation of users turns to chatbots such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, web browsers are regaining prominence as vital gateways to search traffic and prized user data, making them central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Perplexity already has an AI browser, Comet, that can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf and acquiring Chrome would give it the heft to better compete against bigger rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent has also expressed interest in buying Chrome and is working on its own AI browser. Perplexity's bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium open source, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome's default search engine, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The company said the offer, with no equity component, would preserve user choice and ease future competition concerns. Analysts have said Google would be unlikely to sell Chrome and would likely engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome, given it is crucial to the company's AI push as it rolls out features including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to help defend its search market share. A federal judge is expected to issue a ruling on remedies in the Google search antitrust case sometime this month. Perplexity's bid is also below the at least $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google was forced to sell it. Besides OpenAI and Perplexity, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

AI startup Perplexity offers whopping $34.5 bn to buy Google Chrome browser, here's why

The company promised it would not make any "stealth modifications" to Chrome. AI startup Perplexity has made a surprising move by offering $34.5 billion to buy Google's Chrome browser. The bold proposal comes as Google faces the possibility of being forced to sell Chrome under ongoing US antitrust proceedings. Perplexity confirmed to Bloomberg that the unsolicited offer was sent to Google on Tuesday morning. The company plans to fund the deal with help from outside investors. This comes shortly after another AI company, OpenAI, also showed interest in acquiring Chrome, which along with its open-source version Chromium, is one of the most popular ways people browse the internet on computers. The bid follows a major legal challenge last year when a federal judge ruled that Google holds an illegal monopoly in online search. The US government has suggested remedies that include selling Chrome and allowing competitors access to its search data. Judge Amit Mehta, who heard the case, is expected to announce his decision on the remedies soon. Also read: Elon Musk accuses Apple of favoring OpenAI in App Store, says xAI will take legal action San Francisco-based Perplexity has been positioning itself as an alternative to Google Search. Earlier this year, it raised $100 million in funding, which valued the company at $18 billion. This raises questions about how it could afford such a large acquisition. "Multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full," Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko said. However, the company did not reveal the names of these investors. This is not the first time Perplexity has made an offer for a major tech property facing regulatory challenges. Earlier this year, it proposed merging with TikTok's US operations to avoid a possible ban in the country. AI companies are showing growing interest in web browsers, seeing them as platforms where AI agents can help users with tasks like online shopping. Perplexity is already preparing to release a browser called Comet that features an AI agent, according to the report. Also read: Apple iPhone 16 Pro price drops by Rs 19,000 on Flipkart: Check deal details here The company promised it would not make any "stealth modifications" to Chrome if the deal goes through. It also said it would invest $3 billion in Chrome and Chromium over the next two years and hire many of Chrome's current employees. Perplexity's offer does not include giving Google any equity in its own company.