Валентин Шнайдер Money 13 August 2025, 11:29

Perplexity offered Google $34.5 billion to buy Chrome browser

AI startup Perplexity AI has made a surprise offer to buy Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion in cash, seeking to gain control of the tool used by over 3 billion people worldwide.

Leave a comment

Perplexity offered Google $34.5 billion to buy Chrome browser

AI startup Perplexity AI has made a surprise offer to buy Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion in cash, seeking to gain control of the tool used by over 3 billion people worldwide.

As Interesting Engineering reports, the initiative arose against the backdrop of antitrust pressure on Google in the US, where the Justice Department is proposing to forcibly separate Chrome. Negotiations are not officially underway, Alphabet has not put the browser up for sale and has not commented on the offer.

Perplexity is known for its AI search and recently launched its own browser, Comet. The company is valued at $14 billion, but with backing from investors like Nvidia and SoftBank, it is willing to fully fund the deal. Its plan involves keeping Chromium open source, investing $3 billion in the browser’s development over two years, and keeping Google as the default search engine.

The move would be the largest-ever browser deal. Chrome, which has more than 60% of the global market, is a key source of traffic for Google Search and related advertising revenue. Taking control of an AI search competitor would potentially change the balance of power in the fight against players like OpenAI, which is also working on its own AI browsers.

Experts say that even if a US court upholds the forced sale of Chrome, the legal process could drag on for years due to appeals. Meanwhile, Google plans to appeal last year’s decision to recognize a monopoly in search, and Perplexity is using the high-profile proposal to solidify its image as an ambitious competitor in the field of AI.

We previously wrote about how Perplexity’s CEO predicts that AI will eliminate HR professionals in six months. The startup’s head believes that the new artificial intelligence agent will be able to perform a week’s worth of recruiter work with a single request.