In a bold move highlighting the power of capital in the age of artificial intelligence, startup Perplexity has made a massive $34.5 billion bid to buy the Chrome browser, one of Google’s crown jewels, which may soon be forced to sell it due to its major antitrust loss.
Article contents:
- Introduction: A bold offer in the wake of Google’s crisis
- How can a startup afford this cost?
- Remedies trial context: A race to buy Chrome
- Perplexity’s promises: Keeping Chrome open source
- An unsolicited offer at a critical time
- The long road ahead: Legal challenges and fierce competition
- “The devil we know”: User concerns
- Conclusion: Data is the ultimate prize
Introduction: A bold offer in the wake of Google’s crisis
Following its major antitrust loss, Google may soon find itself forced to sell one of its crown jewels. Among the remedies proposed by the government in the search case is a requirement that Google divest its market-leading Chrome browser, and Perplexity has already thrown its hat in the ring with a massive $34.5 billion bid. The problem, however, is that Perplexity does not have that kind of money.
How can a startup afford this cost?
Perplexity has ridden the wave of AI hype, with its AI-powered search appearing on smartphones and in the company’s dedicated Comet browser. Like any company offering an AI product, investors have been happy to throw money at Perplexity, totaling around $1 billion to date. Investors currently value the company at around $14 billion. So how does Perplexity have more than double that amount to buy Chrome? The answer is simple: it doesn’t.
There is so much floating capital in the AI space right now that even a cash-poor company like Perplexity can secure enough investment to spend on Chrome. Reuters reported that the all-cash offer is backed by various venture capital funds, but Perplexity has not provided specific details.
Remedies trial context: A race to buy Chrome
During the remedies trial last spring, a group of Google’s competitors took the stand to express interest in buying Chrome. For example, an OpenAI executive vowed to turn Chrome into an AI-first experience if the company could acquire it. This testimony undermined Google’s claim that no one in the industry would be able to manage the browser.
Perplexity’s promises: Keeping Chrome open source
Google has strongly objected to the government’s proposal to give up Chrome, which it called a “radically interventionist agenda.” Chrome is not just a browser—it is an open-source project known as Chromium, which powers many non-Google browsers, including Microsoft’s Edge. Perplexity’s offer includes $3 billion to operate Chromium for two years, and the company pledges to keep the project fully open source. Perplexity also promises it will not force changes to the browser’s default search engine.
An unsolicited offer at a critical time
We are currently awaiting a ruling from U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on the remedies in the case. That could happen as early as this month. Therefore, Perplexity’s offer comes at a somewhat opportune time, but there is still a long road ahead. This is an unsolicited offer, and there is no indication that Google will jump at the chance to sell Chrome as soon as the ruling is issued.
The long road ahead: Legal challenges and fierce competition
Even if the court decides Google must sell, it will likely fetch much more than what Perplexity is offering. During the trial, DuckDuckGo’s CEO suggested a price of around $50 billion, while other estimates ranged into the hundreds of billions. If Mehta decides to mandate a sale, there will undoubtedly be legal challenges that could take months or years to resolve. And if these maneuvers fail, there is likely to be opposition to any potential buyer.
“The devil we know”: User concerns
There will be many users who dislike the idea of an AI startup or an unholy alliance of venture capital firms owning the Chrome browser. Google has been collecting user data using Chrome for years—but that is “the devil we know.” Transferring this data to new hands could raise significant privacy and competition concerns.
Conclusion: Data is the ultimate prize
Ultimately, the data flowing to Chrome’s owner could be vital in building new artificial intelligence technologies—and any sale price is likely to be a net loss for Google. Perplexity’s bold offer shows that the coming battle in the tech world is not just about building the best models, but also about owning the channels through which these models reach users. The Chrome browser is one of the largest such channels, and the race to acquire it has only just begun.
