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Artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity AI has stunned the tech industry with an unsolicited $34.5bn (£25.6bn) offer to acquire Google Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser with an estimated three billion users.
The three-year-old company, backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and chip giant Nvidia, is led by Aravind Srinivas, a former Google and OpenAI employee.
The proposal comes as Google faces mounting antitrust scrutiny in the United States. A federal judge is expected to rule this month on a landmark case that could potentially force Google to spin off parts of its search business.
Google has called such a breakup “unprecedented” and warned it would harm consumers and security. The company is currently defending itself in two separate US antitrust cases over its dominance in search and online advertising.
Industry Reaction: ‘A Stunt’ and Far Below Value
Judith MacKenzie, head of Downing Fund Managers, said she admired Perplexity’s ambition but noted the deal is “unsolicited” and “not actually funded yet.”
Tech investor Heath Ahrens dismissed the offer as a “stunt,” arguing it was “nowhere near Chrome’s true value” given its unmatched reach and data.
Tomasz Tunguz of Theory Ventures estimated Chrome could be “ten times more valuable” than the price Perplexity offered.
Perplexity’s Vision for Chrome
In a letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Perplexity said the acquisition would represent an “important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome.”
The firm pledged to:
- Keep Google as Chrome’s default search engine, with the option for users to change it.
- Maintain and support Chromium, the open-source platform underpinning Chrome and other browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Opera.
- Prioritise user safety and independence from Google’s wider business operations.
Funding Questions and Controversy
Perplexity, valued at around $18bn in July, did not explain how it would finance the $34.5bn bid.
The company has been making aggressive moves in the tech sector. Last month, it launched Comet, an AI-powered browser, and earlier this year it offered to purchase the US arm of TikTok, which faces a looming deadline to sell or face a nationwide ban.
However, Perplexity has also drawn criticism from media organisations, including the BBC, which accused it of reproducing content “verbatim” without permission. Perplexity rejected the claims and controversially linked the BBC’s stance to what it called Google’s “illegal monopoly,” without providing further explanation.
Read also: Meta to Launch Fully Automated AI Advertising Platform by 2026
Unlikely to Succeed — But Signals Big Ambitions
Given Chrome’s central role in Google’s ecosystem and the relatively low offer, industry observers say the takeover is unlikely to move forward. But the bid signals Perplexity’s ambition to challenge the dominance of tech giants in both AI and browser markets.
As Ahrens put it, “If someone like Sam Altman or Elon Musk tripled it, they could genuinely secure dominance for their AI.” For now, Perplexity’s audacious move may be less about sealing a deal — and more about making a statement in the escalating AI arms race.
