Perplexity AI makes $34.5 billion bid for Google Chrome

Reuters has reported that Perplexity AI made a $34.5 billion offer to acquire the Chrome browser from Google.

The AI startup previously made headlines earlier this year after expressing interest in acquiring TikTok’s US operations. While that deal never materialized, the company has set its sights on one of the most used web browsers worldwide.

Perplexity did not disclose detailed funding plans for the proposed Chrome acquisition. The company only stated that multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full.

Notably, the company has raised about $1 billion in funding, which is significantly less than its bid. The offer comes amid regulatory pressure in the US for Google to divest Chrome.

This follows a court ruling that found the company held an unlawful monopoly in online search. That said, the US Justice Department has pushed for a Chrome sell-off as part of the case remedies.

A federal judge is expected to make a ruling this month. Google, however, has not indicated any plans to sell and intends to appeal the decision. Other interested parties reportedly include OpenAI, Yahoo, and Apollo Global Management.

Perplexity recently launched its own AI-powered browser called Comet, which can perform automated tasks for users. If the acquisition is approved, the company says it will keep the Chromium code open source.

The company plans to invest $3 billion into Chrome over two years, and maintain Google as the default search engine. It believes these measures will preserve user choice while easing competition concerns.