Perplexity makes $34.5B bid for Google’s Chrome amid antitrust showdown

A.I. start-up Perplexity has made an unexpected $34.5 billion offer to acquire Google’s Chrome web browser, injecting fresh drama into an antitrust battle that could force major changes at the tech giant.

The bid comes as U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta prepares to issue a decision — possibly this week — that may compel Google to divest Chrome in a bid to curb its dominance in the internet search market.

Perplexity’s chief executive, Aravind Srinivas, outlined the proposal in a letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet. He described the offer as “designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in the highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator.”

Google has yet to comment on the proposal. Perplexity, like several emerging companies, aims to challenge Google’s search monopoly through A.I.-powered tools that provide concise, conversational answers rather than traditional lists of links. Owning Chrome could give it a significant advantage over rivals such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and You.com.

Despite the bold move, Perplexity’s own valuation stands at roughly $18 billion, making the deal a stretch. Company spokesperson Jesse Dwyer told The New York Times that outside investors have already pledged support for the purchase.

Last year, Judge Mehta ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws to maintain its near-90% share of the search market. The Justice Department has since urged the court to take strong measures, including forcing Google to sell Chrome and share its search results and ad data with competitors — arguing such steps are necessary to prevent Google from dominating A.I. as well.

Google has resisted, offering smaller adjustments to its operations instead. During April’s remedies hearing, both Perplexity and other A.I. firms signaled interest in acquiring Chrome if it were put up for sale.

Founded in 2022 by former OpenAI researcher Srinivas and others, Perplexity has already launched its own browser, Comet, to promote its A.I.-driven search engine. In April, DuckDuckGo’s CEO estimated Chrome could be worth “upwards of $50 billion,” according to Bloomberg — meaning Perplexity’s offer could be a bargain if accepted.

The bid follows another audacious move by the start-up: a reported proposal last month to merge with TikTok.

Perplexity's move has received many negative remarks. Take MG Siegler, a well-known tech investor and writer, for example: "Perplexity's move is clearly a farcical publicity stunt (which they'd never admit, obviously), and I respect the hustle to continually get outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Bloomberg to write about your company. And it has the added benefit of adding pressure to the antitrust case, trying to showcase to the judge that others would be willing to buy Chrome from Google. All that said, Perplexity does this type of stuff a lot. Too much, in my opinion."

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