AI Startup Perplexity Offers $34.5 Billion to Buy Google Chrome, Willing to Pay Twice Its Market Value

Perplexity AI, a rapidly growing artificial intelligence startup valued at $18 billion, has made a bold and unsolicited all-cash offer of $34.5 billion (around ₹2.98 lakh crore) to acquire Google's Chrome web browser. This offer is nearly double the estimated market value of Chrome, which is pegged between $18 billion and $50 billion. Perplexity’s move is aimed at securing one of the world’s most widely used internet browsers, which boasts over three billion users globally.

Details of the Offer and Commitments

• Perplexity has pledged to keep Chrome’s underlying Chromium open-source, ensuring continued access for other browser makers.

• The company plans to invest $3 billion over two years in developing and improving the browser’s infrastructure.

• It guaranteed no changes to Chrome's default search engine settings, meaning Google would remain the default search provider even under new ownership.

• Perplexity intends to retain a substantial portion of the existing Chrome engineering and development team to maintain continuity.

Context and Background

The bid comes amid increasing regulatory pressure on Google in the United States. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused Google of maintaining an illegal monopoly over online search, with a federal judge expected soon to rule on remedies, potentially including forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser. Google plans to appeal the ruling and has not expressed any intent to sell Chrome, describing such moves as unprecedented.

Other Interested Parties

Besides Perplexity, companies like OpenAI, Yahoo, and Apollo Global Management have also shown interest in Chrome. Furthermore, DuckDuckGo’s CEO has estimated Chrome's potential forced-sale value could be as high as $50 billion, indicating the vast strategic importance of this asset.

Strategic Importance for Perplexity

Owning Chrome would give Perplexity unparalleled access to billions of users and a significant foothold in the AI-powered search space, positioning it competitively against tech giants like Google and OpenAI. This acquisition would be a game-changer in the ongoing AI and search engine dominance race.

Current Status

Google has yet to respond publicly to Perplexity’s offer. Given Google’s central role in the ecosystem and ongoing legal battles, any sale would be complex and take years to finalize if it proceeds at all. Meanwhile, Perplexity’s audacious bid highlights the rising power and ambition of AI startups willing to challenge entrenched tech monopolies.

In summary, Perplexity AI’s $34.5 billion offer for Chrome is a landmark move in the tech industry, showcasing a daring attempt by a smaller AI company to acquire a key internet asset from a global tech giant amid regulatory upheaval.