New home for Chrome? Perplexity AI bids $34.5B for top browser as Google faces divestiture pressure

Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and CNBC. The surprise offer comes as Google faces a pending antitrust ruling that could force the tech giant to divest Chrome, with the Justice Department seeking to break up Google’s browser monopoly.

Why this matters: The bid represents a bold move by Perplexity to acquire one of the world’s most dominant web browsers, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape in search and browsing technology.

The numbers: Perplexity’s offer significantly exceeds its own $18 billion valuation, with the AI startup claiming that “several investors including large venture-capital funds have agreed to back the transaction in full.”

Legal backdrop: Google lost a major antitrust case last year, with a federal court ruling that the company operated as a monopoly by securing multibillion-dollar deals to make its search engine the default on browsers and smartphones from Apple and Samsung.
• The Justice Department is now seeking Chrome’s divestiture as a proposed remedy.
• A judge is expected to rule on remedies as soon as this month.

About Perplexity: Founded in 2022, the AI startup recently launched Comet, an AI-powered browser that competes directly with traditional browsing experiences.
• However, Perplexity faces its own legal challenges, with News Corp’s Dow Jones & Co. and the New York Post filing a federal lawsuit in October 2024.
• The lawsuit alleges Perplexity engaged in a “massive amount of illegal copying of publishers’ copyrighted works and diverting customers and critical revenues away from those copyright holders.”

What’s next: Google representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment about the acquisition offer, leaving the tech industry waiting to see how the search giant will respond to this unprecedented bid.