Perplexity AI Offers to Buy Google Chrome for US$34bn

Perplexity AI, a company that did not exist three years ago, has offered to buy the world's leading web browser.

Despite Google's stance that Chrome isn't available for purchase, Perplexity has put forward a US$34.5bn proposal for the browser.

The bid coincides with Google's regulatory wrestling with US antitrust authorities.

Following Judge Amit Mehta's April 2025 decision that Google unlawfully sustains a monopoly on internet searches, Perplexity is ready for any eventuality of a forced sale.

Perplexity's correspondence with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai states that the firm's plainly, suggesting that a sale would be in "the highest public interest" by transferring Chrome to "capable, independent" ownership.

This development has caught the immediate attention of the global tech sector.

Perplexity's proposal surpasses its own US$18bn company value by almost 100%.

The firm, founded only in 2022, has secured roughly US$1.5bn in funding thus far but maintains that a number of major VC funds have committed to supporting any deal with Google for Chrome.

Perplexity's Chief Business Officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, this week told Bloomberg that "multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full".

Chrome's actual worth continues to be debated. DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg stated in court proceedings that Chrome might be valued at more than US$50bn, while other projections suggest its value could be as high as US$100bn.

Why does Perplexity want to acquire Google Chrome?

Boasting roughly 3.5 billion users, Chrome functions as the main entry point to the internet for the majority of global users.

Apart from its browsing capabilities, Chrome gathers user behaviour data that powers Google's US$2tn advertising empire and decides which search platform billions of people see when they first go online.

For Perplexity, gaining control of Chrome would deliver instant access to a user population 100 times larger than its current monthly base of 30 million users.

It has been reported that the start-up currently brings in around US$150m annually. Of course, ownership of Chrome would dramatically expand Perplexity's scope and influence.

This development follows shortly on from Perplexity's launch of Comet in July, an AI-enhanced browser enabling users to give natural language instructions for sophisticated tasks such as scheduling meetings or completing purchases.

The start-up's CEO, Aravind Srinivas, has described Comet as a "cognitive operating system" that revolutionises user web interaction.

Aravind has previously voiced criticism for Google's ad-focused approach to internet searches. 

He suggests that searches "manipulated with ads" amounts to a frustrating user experience. Perplexity claims that its own methodology keeps advertising separate from primary search results, presenting itself as more user-centric than Google's framework.

Why Google will not let go of Chrome without a fight

As Google CEO Sundar Pichai made clear during his court appearance earlier this year, the organisation considers Chrome vital to its competitive approach.

He described the Justice Department's suggested solutions – including Chrome's potential forced sale – as "extraordinary" and cautioned that these recommendations would render Google's continued search investment "unviable".

Compelling Google to reveal search data would enable rivals to "reverse-engineer every aspect of our technology," he additionally argued, warning that Chrome divestiture would lead to "many unintended consequences", including threats to global cybersecurity.

Google provides more than 90% of code contributions to Chromium, the open-source foundation behind Chrome and other browsers.

"I haven't seen, since we built Chrome, any other company make the kind of investments" Google has made, he says.

The Justice Department's antitrust proceedings constitute the most substantial challenge to major tech control since Microsoft's 2001 resolution, which created browser competition and eventually facilitated Chrome's emergence.

The DOJ has suggested compelling Google to sell Chrome to "permanently stop Google's control of this critical search access point".

Judge Mehta determined that Google breached antitrust regulations through exclusive default-placement agreements worth billions each year.

Perplexity's position in the broader AI race

Perplexity has and will continue to encounter fierce rivalry from other AI companies in the battle for the new era of web searching.

OpenAI has similarly shown interest in purchasing Chrome and has recruited former Google Chrome engineers, while Apple has allegedly conducted internal conversations about acquiring Perplexity directly.

Judge Mehta is anticipated to reveal his final ruling on Google's antitrust solutions later this summer, although appeals will probably prolong the proceedings for years.

Whatever the result, Perplexity's proposal has definitively established the company within debates concerning the future of internet access.

"There's no end to knowledge," says Aravind. "You can only expand and grow. I see this as sort of a discovery process."