Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer for Google’s Chrome browser
Three-year-old AI search firm Perplexity proposes to acquire Chrome amid ongoing U.S. antitrust scrutiny, pledging to preserve open-source development and secure financing.
Artificial-intelligence search company Perplexity has submitted an unsolicited all-cash offer of thirty-four point five billion dollars to acquire Google’s Chrome browser.
The bid comes as Google anticipates a court ruling following a judgment that found its search business violated U.S. antitrust laws and as the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed the sale of Chrome as a potential remedy.
Google has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal the ruling.
Perplexity stated that multiple venture capital backers have committed to fully finance the transaction, without identifying them by name.
The offer includes commitments to maintain Chrome’s underlying Chromium code as open-source, invest three billion dollars in its development over the next two years, and retain Google as the default search engine.
With a valuation around eighteen billion dollars, Perplexity’s bid nearly doubles its own market valuation.
Perplexity launched its AI search tool in late 2022 and last month released its own AI-enabled browser, Comet.
The company has positioned the proposal as compatible with antitrust remedies and an opportunity to advance AI-powered browsing amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of Google.
Google’s share price rose modestly following the announcement.
Analysts note that even if a divestiture were ordered, legal processes could delay any transition for years.
The bid comes as Google anticipates a court ruling following a judgment that found its search business violated U.S. antitrust laws and as the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed the sale of Chrome as a potential remedy.
Google has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal the ruling.
Perplexity stated that multiple venture capital backers have committed to fully finance the transaction, without identifying them by name.
The offer includes commitments to maintain Chrome’s underlying Chromium code as open-source, invest three billion dollars in its development over the next two years, and retain Google as the default search engine.
With a valuation around eighteen billion dollars, Perplexity’s bid nearly doubles its own market valuation.
Perplexity launched its AI search tool in late 2022 and last month released its own AI-enabled browser, Comet.
The company has positioned the proposal as compatible with antitrust remedies and an opportunity to advance AI-powered browsing amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of Google.
Google’s share price rose modestly following the announcement.
Analysts note that even if a divestiture were ordered, legal processes could delay any transition for years.
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