Perplexity, an AI search engine, has made an unsolicited offer to buy Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion in cash, significantly exceeding the amount it has raised from investors. The offer includes a commitment to keep Chrome’s underlying engine, Chromium, open source and to invest $3 billion into the project. Perplexity also promises not to change Chrome users' default settings, including keeping Google as the default search engine rather than replacing it with its own AI-powered option.
This bid follows a Department of Justice (DOJ) proposal in March that Google be forced to sell Chrome after a judge ruled Google illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Google has not agreed to sell and is fighting the ruling. Perplexity expects the court to set terms for remedies soon. Google is also facing another federal case regarding monopolization in adtech, with the DOJ proposing divestment or breakup of parts of Google’s ad business.
Both OpenAI and Perplexity showed interest in buying Chrome when the DOJ first proposed divestment. Chrome currently holds a 68% market share in browsers, making it a highly valuable asset. DuckDuckGo’s CEO testified that Chrome could be worth “upwards of $50 billion,” suggesting Perplexity’s offer might be a bargain.
Perplexity’s offer is notable because it far exceeds its own valuation and funding; it has raised about $1.5 billion and was last valued at $18 billion. Recently, Perplexity launched its own browser, Comet, to expand its AI search business independently of Google’s browser. Additionally, Perplexity reportedly submitted a bid to merge with TikTok last month.
