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Perplexity offers to buy Chrome for billions more than it’s raised
AI search engine Perplexity has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion cash offer to buy Google's Chrome, promising to keep its engine open source and maintain Google as the default search engine. This comes after the DOJ's proposal for Google to divest Chrome due to monopoly concerns. Perplexity aims to expand its presence, having recently launched its own browser and expressed interest in merging with TikTok.
Key points
- Perplexity offered $34.5 billion to acquire Chrome from Google, confirmed by TechCrunch.
- The offer includes commitments to keep Chromium open source and invest $3 billion in it.
- Perplexity promises to maintain Google as the default search engine for Chrome users.
- This bid follows a Department of Justice proposal for Google to divest Chrome due to monopoly violations.
- If the court rules for divestiture, Chrome's 68% market share may attract multiple bidders.
- Perplexity has raised approximately $1.5 billion but is offering more than its valuation, which is around $18 billion.
- Perplexity launched a new browser, Comet, to grow its AI search business independently of Google.
Why it matters
- The DOJ's legal pursuit against Google reflects ongoing concerns over antitrust issues in the tech sector, which have been rising since the late 2010s.
- Perplexity's move signifies the increasing competition among AI companies for market dominance, particularly in search engines.
- This development fits into the 2025 IT Trends of regulatory scrutiny and the growth of open-source technologies.
- Interest in web browsers and antitrust has been a major theme recently, echoing similar discussions around Microsoft in the late 1990s.
Perplexity's bold bid for Chrome illustrates the volatile landscape of tech acquisitions and antitrust dynamics, potentially reshaping the future of web browsing and AI integration in search technologies.