The artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity has made a bold move by offering $34.5 billion to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, a development that comes as the tech giant faces potential regulatory orders to sell the market-leading product. The offer, which surpasses Perplexity’s own valuation, is said to be backed by a group of major venture capital investors.
Google has been embroiled in an antitrust case in the United States since 2020, following lawsuits from the Department of Justice and several states accusing the company of abusing its market dominance. According to the plaintiffs, Google unlawfully secured its search engine’s default status on browsers and devices through payments to manufacturers, stifling fair competition. In April 2024, Judge Amit Mehta sided with the plaintiffs, prompting discussions over potential remedies — including a forced sale of Chrome.
Perplexity’s interest in Chrome is not unique. OpenAI has also indicated it would consider purchasing the browser if Google were compelled to divest. Analysts say acquiring Chrome could help companies like OpenAI or Perplexity overcome one of their biggest challenges: broad distribution of their AI tools. A ruling on the matter is expected later this month.
Perplexity’s offer falls in the middle of Chrome’s estimated $20–50 billion valuation range but far exceeds the AI company’s current worth, which market reports place at around $18 billion. In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Perplexity said its proposal aimed to “deliver Chrome to a capable, independent operator” in line with the public interest and potential court-mandated antitrust remedies. Google, however, has not signalled any willingness to sell and has declined to comment on the bid.
The start-up already operates its own browser, Comet, built on Chromium — the same open-source codebase that powers Chrome — and integrated with Perplexity’s AI search. Currently, Comet is only available to premium subscribers paying $200 per month, giving it a small user base compared to Chrome’s estimated 3.5 billion users and more than 60 percent share of the global browser market. When combined with other Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Brave, and Opera, the platform’s collective market share reaches nearly 80 percent.
Perplexity has pledged to continue supporting Chromium and to keep Google as Chrome’s default search engine if the acquisition goes through, though users would still be free to change it. Market analysts remain skeptical about the likelihood of a court ordering Google to part with Chrome, but should such a ruling occur, the company is expected to pursue every possible appeal.