AI startup Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited offer to purchase Google’s Chrome browser for a staggering $34.5 billion. The offer follows the DOJ’s push to force Google to spin off its browser following last year’s antitrust lawsuit focused on Google Search.
The bid, confirmed by CNBC on Tuesday, comes as a surprise given that the proposed acquisition price exceeds Perplexity’s current valuation of $18 billion. However, the company has stated that several investors have agreed to back the deal, indicating a strong belief in the potential of this acquisition.
Perplexity AI, known for its AI-powered search engine, recently launched its own AI-powered browser called Comet. The startup finds itself in the midst of a fierce competition for supremacy in the field of generative AI, with companies such as Meta and OpenAI offering substantial salaries and signing bonuses to attract top engineering talent.
The battle for AI dominance has led to tech companies investing tens of billions of dollars annually in AI infrastructure to develop large language models (LLMs) that power AI chatbots and other applications. Meanwhile, startups like Perplexity are raising billions from venture investors, hedge funds, and tech giants to finance the hardware and personnel necessary to remain competitive.
Perplexity’s bid for Chrome comes on the heels of the DOJ’s proposal that Google divest the browser as part of the antitrust suit the company lost last year. The judge in the case determined that Google has maintained an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search. The DOJ argued that forcing Google to relinquish control of Chrome would create a more level playing field for search competitors, as the browser provides Google with valuable data used for ad targeting.
Breitbart News previously reported on the DOJ’s targeting of Chrome:
According to the DOJ’s filing, “Google’s illegal conduct has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that—no matter what occurs—Google always wins.” The government maintains that the only way to level the playing field is to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser, along with any data or assets required for its continued operation. This move would effectively transfer Chrome’s user base of approximately 3.4 billion people to a competitor.
Under the proposed remedies, Google would be prohibited from releasing any new browsers during the term of the judgment. However, the company would be allowed to continue contributing to the open-source Chromium project. The government would also vet any potential buyers of Chrome to ensure the sale does not pose a national security threat.
Google has yet to disclose how it plans to adjust its business in response to the antitrust ruling, but the company has criticized the DOJ’s proposal as “wildly overbroad” and pushing a “radical interventionist agenda.”
This is not the first time Perplexity has made a bold move in the tech industry. In January, the startup submitted a proposal to merge with China’s TikTok, whose future in the U.S. has been uncertain since 2024 when Congress passed a bill that would ban the platform unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, divested from it. As of August, Perplexity’s proposed structure for a TikTok deal has not materialized.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
