Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, a move that has taken the tech world by surprise. The acquisition bid, which significantly exceeds Perplexity’s own valuation of around $18 billion, was formally sent to Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. This bold proposal aims to position Perplexity as a stronger contender in the AI search and browser market.
Perplexity’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, in a letter addressed to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, stated that the offer is designed to serve the highest public interest by placing Chrome under the stewardship of an independent and capable operator dedicated to user safety. The startup pledged to keep Chrome’s underlying open-source engine, Chromium, intact and promised to invest $3 billion over two years in its development and infrastructure. Additionally, Perplexity has committed not to change Chrome’s default search engine, maintaining Google as the default but allowing users the freedom to choose.
This unsolicited bid emerges amid ongoing U.S. antitrust scrutiny of Google’s dominance in online search and digital advertising markets. A federal court last year ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly, with the U.S. Department of Justice seeking remedies that could include divestiture of Chrome. A ruling on this matter is anticipated soon, possibly compelling Google to sell the browser. Google has indicated it will appeal the ruling and has described the notion of selling Chrome as unprecedented and potentially harmful to consumers and security.
Perplexity, which recently launched its own AI-driven browser called Comet, aims to leverage Chrome’s massive user base of over three billion to compete more effectively against tech giants in the AI search space, including OpenAI and Microsoft. The startup, founded less than three years ago, has raised about $1 billion from investors such as Nvidia and SoftBank. Perplexity has also secured commitments from multiple investment funds ready to finance this acquisition if Alphabet agrees to the sale, although the exact funding strategy and investors have not been disclosed.
Despite the ambitious offer, analysts view Google’s willingness to sell Chrome as unlikely in the near term, suggesting a protracted legal and regulatory battle is expected. Other interested parties, including OpenAI, Yahoo, and Apollo Global Management, have also surfaced as potential bidders should a forced sale happen. This bid reflects the growing importance of web browsers as gateways to search traffic and AI-powered user experiences in the evolving technology landscape.
In summary, Perplexity’s $34.5 billion offer to acquire Google Chrome is a landmark gambit in the competitive AI and tech ecosystem, driven by regulatory pressures on Google and the startup’s strategic vision to become a dominant player in AI-powered browsing and search.
