AI startup Perplexity has made a $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google's Chrome browser, nearly double its own $18 billion valuation.
Perplexity's Offer
According to The Wall Street Journal, Perplexity's offer is fully backed by several major venture capital investors. This comes just months after the company released its own browser, Comet, to a limited group of users.
Antitrust Proceedings and Google's Position
The timing of the proposal is linked to an ongoing antitrust case against Google, where the judge is considering a possible forced sale of Chrome. Google claims that selling the browser would negatively impact its business and technology investments. Currently, Chrome serves about 3.5 billion users and controls over 60% of the global browser market.
Acquisition Terms and Legal Challenges
Perplexity has stated that if it gains control of Chrome, Google will remain the default search engine, although users will have the option to change this setting. Complicating matters, Perplexity is currently facing lawsuits from subsidiaries of News Corp. Nevertheless, it has secured funding commitments from backers to cover the full purchase price.
Perplexity's bid for Chrome, amid antitrust proceedings, raises critical questions about the independence of web technologies and competition in the search market.
