AI company Perplexity submits a $34.5 billion offer for Google's Chrome web browser
In an unexpected move, Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited all-cash offer of $34.5 billion to acquire Alphabet's Chrome browser[1][2]. This bid, announced in August 2025, is nearly twice Perplexity's own valuation and would require significant external financing.
The offer aims to leverage increasing antitrust pressure on Alphabet, as the U.S. Department of Justice and federal courts have scrutinised Google's dominance in online search, with potential remedies including forcing Alphabet to divest Chrome[1].
Perplexity's proposal includes maintaining Google Search as the default engine within Chrome, preserving the Chromium open-source project, and committing $3 billion towards browser development over the next two years. The company claims to have backing from multiple unnamed investment funds to finance the deal if Alphabet agrees[1].
The potential implications of this offer are significant:
- It could reshape the browser market by transferring ownership from a tech giant to an AI startup, potentially accelerating innovation and competition.
- It may serve as a regulatory solution addressing antitrust concerns by separating Chrome from Google's other search and advertising assets.
- Maintaining Chrome’s current default search engine might ease transition risks for users and advertisers.
However, Alphabet has not signalled any intention to sell the Chrome browser, so the bid remains unsolicited and uncertain in outcome[1].
Web browsers are central to Big Tech's AI ambitions. Buying Chrome would give Perplexity AI access to more than three billion users. The offer from Perplexity AI has no equity component and aims to preserve user choice and ease competition concerns.
The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case's remedies. However, Google is unlikely to sell Chrome and may engage in a long legal fight to prevent it, according to analysts.
Perplexity AI's AI browser, Comet, can perform certain tasks on a user's behalf. The company has raised around $1 billion in funding from investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank.
The process of a potential forced divestiture could take several years, according to Herbert Hovenkamp, professor at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Perplexity did not disclose how it plans to fund the offer. Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment about the offer.
It is worth noting that Perplexity AI made a similar offer for TikTok United States in January. Alphabet's shares were up 1.6% in afternoon trading. The offer from Perplexity is far below the at least $50 billion value suggested by DuckDuckGo's CEO, Gabriel Weinberg.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the offer, Perplexity AI's bid for Chrome marks a bold move in the tech industry, potentially shaking up the browser market and raising questions about the future of Big Tech's dominance in online search.
[1] Source: TechCrunch [2] Source: Reuters
- With the aim of increasing competition and potentially accelerating innovation, Perplexity AI plans to invest $3 billion towards browser development if they successfully acquire Alphabet's Chrome browser.
- Given the proposed acquisition of Alphabet's Chrome browser, Perplexity AI seeks to leverage technology to enhance browser functionality by integrating its AI capabilities, as demonstrated by its AI browser, Comet.
