Aravind Srinivas’ Perplexity AI offers $34.5 billion to buy Google Chrome
It made a similar offer to TikTok US in January, offering merger plans
Three-year-old company Perplexity AI, has announced a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for the Google Chrome browser, which requires financing exceeding the startup’s valuation.
Buying Alphabet’s 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 has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal before a U.S. court. The 2024 court ruling found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The court is expected to issue directions on remedies in the Google search antitrust case this month.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case’s remedies.
Perplexity 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.
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’s AI browser, Comet, performs tasks for users. Acquiring Chrome would make it prominent to compete against rivals such as OpenAI. The ChatGPT parent has also expressed interest in buying Chrome and is working on its AI browser.
Perplexity’s bid pledges to keep the underlying browser code called Chromium, invest $3 billion over two years and make no changes to Chrome’s default search engine. With no equity component, it preserves user choice and eases competition.
Meanwhile, analysts said that Google is unlikely to sell Chrome and would prefer to engage in a long legal fight to prevent that outcome. It is crucial to the company’s AI push as it initiates features, including AI-generated search summaries, known as Overviews, to defend its search market share.
Perplexity’s bid is below the $50 billion value that rival search engine DuckDuckGo’s CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, suggested Chrome may command if Google were forced to sell.
Besides OpenAI and Perplexity, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome.
Owned by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity had earlier made headlines after presenting a similar offer to TikTok US early this year. It suggested merging with the popular short-video app to resolve U.S. concerns about TikTok’s Chinese ownership.