Google was presented with an offer to purchase Chrome for 34.5 billion dollars by Perplexity.
In an unexpected turn of events, AI startup Perplexity has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google's Chrome browser. This move, announced in August 2025, seems to be a strategic response to the ongoing antitrust case against Google, where the U.S. Department of Justice has suggested that Google should divest Chrome as a potential remedy for its monopolistic practices.
Perplexity's bid for Chrome is seen as a marketing strategy and an attempt to capitalize on the regulatory pressure Google faces. The startup, which was estimated at $18 billion in July, recently launched its own AI-powered browser, Comet, and positions it as a competitor to Chrome, offering advanced AI features integrated directly into the browser.
The Chrome browser, launched in 2008, is a main Internet gateway for many users. However, it has been criticised by the Ministry of Justice as a point of control for Google in the search market. The ministry believes that the sale of Chrome will create equal conditions for competitors in the search market and stop Google's control over a key search point.
Google, in response, has called the requirement to sell Chrome a 'radical interventionist agenda' and described the requirement as 'excessive'. The company argues that the court's ruling regarding its illegal monopoly in the Internet search market does not necessitate such drastic measures.
Several investors have agreed to help with the financing of the proposed deal between Google and Perplexity. Google, however, has not confirmed whether it is considering the offer.
Meanwhile, Perplexity is developing an AI search system that provides simple answers with references, and its AI-based browser, Comet, is designed for the verification of facts. It remains to be seen how this development will unfold in the competitive landscape of the tech industry.
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