Perplexity Offers Google $34.5 Billion for Chrome, Reports Say

AI startup Perplexity has proposed to Google the acquisition of the Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, according to CNBC, citing a source.

The proposed amount exceeds the current valuation of the AI company, yet several investors have agreed to assist in financing the deal.

In July, Perplexity was valued at $18 billion during an additional funding round. The company is developing an AI-based search engine that provides straightforward answers and links to original sources on the internet. The product is in demand, particularly for fact-checking purposes.

In July, Perplexity launched its own AI-powered web browser, Comet.

The startup made the offer after the U.S. Department of Justice urged Google to sell Chrome as part of an antitrust lawsuit the company lost last year. The court ruled that the corporation maintains an illegal monopoly in the crucial market of internet search.

In response, Google stated that the Justice Department is pushing a “radical interventionist agenda,” describing the department’s proposal as “extremely excessive.” The company has yet to announce how it plans to restructure its business following the antitrust decision.

Launched in 2008, Chrome provides the search engine with data used for targeted advertising. The Justice Department, in a document filed after the court’s decision, noted that Google’s divestiture of the browser would create a more level playing field for competitors in the search market.

“To remedy these violations, [the initially proposed final judgment] requires Google to sell Chrome, which will permanently end Google’s control over this key access point to search and allow competing search engines access to a browser that, for many users, is the gateway to the internet,” the Justice Department stated.

Back in April, OpenAI expressed interest in acquiring Chrome.