Perplexity AI Puts Forward $34.5 Billion Offer for Google Chrome
In an audacious move shaking the tech world, Perplexity AI has made a surprise $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google’s Chrome browser.
The artificial intelligence startup confirmed the unsolicited offer on Tuesday, noting that venture capital backers are ready to bankroll the eye-watering deal.
The sum is nearly double Perplexity’s latest $18 billion valuation, achieved just last month, but the company insists its investor support is rock solid.
Google has yet to issue any public response. The Wall Street Journal first broke news of the bid, which has since been confirmed by CNBC.
Perplexity AI, already making waves with its AI-powered search engine, has been positioning itself as a challenger in the global AI race.
Its tool delivers concise answers paired with links to original sources, a format some say bridges the gap between traditional search and AI chatbots. In July, the company launched Comet, its own AI-powered web browser.
This bid comes at a tense moment for Google. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has been pushing for Chrome’s divestment following last year’s antitrust ruling, where a judge determined the search giant had maintained an illegal monopoly.
The DOJ argued: “To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet.”
Google has hit back at the idea, accusing the DOJ of pursuing “a radical interventionist agenda” and labelling the proposal as “wildly overbroad.” The company has yet to reveal its next move in light of the court’s decision.
Chrome, launched in 2008, has long been a goldmine for Google, feeding it user data that fuels targeted advertising. If stripped away, it would open the door to greater competition from alternative search providers.
Perplexity AI’s bid isn’t its first headline-making gamble. In January, the startup attempted to negotiate a merger with TikTok amid mounting US political pressure on the platform’s Chinese owner, ByteDance. That deal never reached fruition.
The competition in generative AI is intensifying. Industry giants such as Meta and OpenAI are throwing vast salaries at top engineers, while tech heavyweights spend tens of billions annually on AI infrastructure.
Startups like Perplexity are racing to secure capital for talent and hardware, fuelling one of the most aggressive innovation battles the tech sector has seen in years.
Whether Perplexity AI’s Chrome gamble is a strategic masterstroke or a bold bluff, one thing’s certain — it has the entire tech world watching.
