Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity has made an unexpected $34.5 billion all-cash offer to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, one of the most widely used web browsers in the world.
The proposal comes as Google faces increasing antitrust pressure in the United States. Regulators and the courts are currently considering whether the tech giant should be required to divest parts of its business to promote competition, with Chrome seen as a key asset in the debate.
Perplexity, founded in 2022 and valued at around $18 billion, claims it has secured financial backing from investors to complete the deal. The offer is nearly twice the company’s own valuation.
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In its proposal, Perplexity has pledged to maintain the open-source Chromium project, keep Google Search as Chrome’s default search engine, and invest $3 billion into improving the browser over the next two years.
Google has not indicated any interest in selling Chrome and is expected to oppose any forced divestiture. Company executives have argued that separating Chrome from Google could undermine security, product integration, and user experience.
Chrome currently dominates the browser market with over 3.5 billion users worldwide and a market share of between 60 and 68 percent. Meanwhile, Perplexity recently entered the browser space with its Comet browser, designed to integrate AI tools such as summarization and automated assistance directly into web browsing.
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Whether the $34.5 billion offer gains traction remains uncertain. However, the announcement has already drawn attention in both the technology industry and regulatory circles, highlighting the growing role of AI-driven companies in challenging established tech leaders.
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