AI Start-up Perplexity Makes $34.5bn Bid for Google Chrome

Artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity has made an unexpected $34.5 billion (£25.6 billion) takeover offer for Google’s Chrome browser, the world’s most widely used internet browser with over three billion users.

In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Perplexity said transferring Chrome to an independent operator committed to user safety would benefit the public. The company pledged to keep Google as Chrome’s default search engine while allowing users to change settings, and to continue supporting Chromium, the open-source platform that underpins Chrome and other browsers like Microsoft Edge and Opera.

Google has not commented on the offer, and there are no public indications it is considering selling Chrome. Industry analysts have questioned the seriousness of the bid, with some calling it a publicity stunt. Heath Ahrens, a technology investor, said Chrome’s true value is likely much higher than Perplexity’s offer, while Tomasz Tunguz from Theory Ventures suggested it could be worth up to ten times more.

Perplexity, valued at $18 billion in July, did not disclose funding plans for the acquisition. The bid comes as Google faces mounting antitrust scrutiny in the U.S., including a pending federal court ruling that could order it to restructure its search business.

The AI start-up, a rising player in the generative AI race alongside OpenAI and Google, recently launched its own AI-powered browser, Comet. It has also made high-profile acquisition attempts, including an offer to purchase the U.S. operations of TikTok earlier this year.