AI startup Perplexity has made an offer to Google to acquire the Chrome browser for $34.5 billion in cash, Reuters reports.
The terms stipulate that the Chromium engine will remain open, and the company will invest $3 billion in its development. Perplexity also promises not to change the default search engine in Chrome — it will remain Google, not its own system. Google has not officially commented on the proposal.
Perplexity's initiative comes after the US Department of Justice proposed ordering Google to sell Chrome in a court ruling that it had an illegal monopoly on the search market. Google is refusing to sell the browser and is appealing the verdict. Perplexity officials believe the terms of the ruling could be set as early as this month.
In parallel, Google is involved in another lawsuit, where it is accused of monopolizing the advertising technology market, and the Ministry of Justice is proposing to forcibly sell part of the business.
The idea of selling Chrome has attracted the attention of not only Perplexity, but also OpenAI and Yahoo. According to Statcounter, the browser has a 68% market share, so there are many potential buyers. DuckDuckGo CEO previously valued Chrome at over $50 billion.
At the same time, the purchase amount significantly exceeds the investments Perplexity has raised. According to Bloomberg, the company received about $1.5 billion, including $100 million last month, at a valuation of $18 billion.
Interestingly, Perplexity recently launched its own browser, Comet, and is rumored to have filed for a merger with TikTok.