Perplexity AI Offers $34.5 Billion to Acquire Google Chrome

Perplexity, an AI start-up, has made a surprising $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser. The company argues that moving Chrome to an independent operator focused on user safety would benefit the public, outlining its offer in a letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Despite Perplexity’s bold move, some industry experts dismiss it as a stunt, highlighting that the bid is far lower than Chrome’s actual value and questioning whether Google is even considering selling the browser. Google has not responded to the offer, nor has it announced any intentions to sell Chrome, which has over three billion users. The tech giant is currently embroiled in legal battles over antitrust cases, with a U.S. judge potentially ruling that Google must break up its search business. Perplexity’s offer includes retaining Google as Chrome’s default search engine, while also supporting Chromium, an open-source platform used by Chrome and other browsers like Microsoft Edge. Perplexity’s recent expansion into generative AI and its previous offer to acquire TikTok have garnered significant attention. Industry figures suggest that Perplexity’s bid is much lower than Chrome’s market value, which may be 10 times higher than the offered amount.