In a surprising move, a three-year-old startup, Perplexity AI, has offered a $34.5 billion all-cash deal to buy Google Chrome, home to over 3 billion users and one that routes a significant portion of global internet traffic through its ports. The bid is valued at more than twice Perplexity’s own market capitalization of $14 billion. It comes as Alphabet is reportedly battling rising regulatory pressure in the US, including a possible forced sale of Chrome on antitrust grounds.
According to the report, CEO Aravind Srinivas wrote a letter to Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai claiming that the proposal “is an antitrust remedy in the highest public interest” and promising to keep Chrome’s underlying code, Chromium, open source. Perplexity will invest $3 billion over two years to keep the browser alive and improve it.
Chrome is a key player of the AI-leaning search market, with over 3 billion users across the world. Acquiring it would put Perplexity in a commanding position against competitors, particularly as Google faces a legal challenge for its dominance in search. However, analysts believe a sale is unlikely without a lengthy legal battle.
Funding for the acquisition remains unclear. It’s no easy task to pull such a deal, but that hasn’t stopped Perplexity, a Silicon Valley startup funded by the likes of Nvidia and SoftBank, with about $1 billion. Sources told Reuters that several investment funds have expressed willingness to finance the deal, but no names have been disclosed.
Srinivasan has made an offer at a time when a US District Court Judge Amit Mehta is set to rule on the antitrust case brought against Google by the CWA and other groups last year. The US Justice Department is pushing for Chrome to be broken free, arguing that Google’s near-90% share of online search cannot be reduced without such action.
Google has opposed the idea, arguing instead for smaller operational changes to deal with regulatory worries. A final court ruling is due by the month’s end and may determine whether Chrome remains within Alphabet or goes to a new custodian.