Artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity has made an unexpected $34.5 billion (£25.6bn) takeover bid for Google’s Chrome browser, claiming the deal would “benefit the public” by placing it in the hands of an “independent operator committed to user safety.” The offer was made in a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
Chrome is currently the world’s most popular browser with more than three billion users, but there’s no indication Google is looking to sell. The company did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
The bid comes as Google faces heightened antitrust pressure. A U.S. federal judge is expected to rule this month in one of two major cases against the company. If the court finds Google’s search monopoly unlawful, potential remedies could include breaking up parts of its business – though the company says spinning off Chrome would be an “unprecedented proposal” that would harm users and online security.
A Perplexity spokesperson told the BBC the bid reflects “an important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome.” The company said that if the acquisition went ahead, it would keep Google as the default search engine, while still allowing users to switch, and would continue to support Chromium, the open-source platform behind Chrome and browsers like Microsoft Edge and Opera.
Reaction from the tech world has been mixed. Technology investor Heath Ahrens called the move “a stunt, and nowhere near Chrome’s true value, given its unmatched data and reach.” He added that if someone like Sam Altman or Elon Musk “tripled it, they could genuinely secure dominance for their AI.” Tomasz Tunguz of Theory Ventures agreed the offer is low, saying the browser may be “ten times more valuable than the bid or more.”
Funding details remain unclear. Perplexity’s own valuation was estimated at $18 billion in July. The company, which launched its AI-powered Comet browser last month, has been rapidly rising in the generative AI space, competing with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Earlier this year, it also made headlines with an offer to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations, which face a September deadline for sale or a potential ban.