US-based technology start-up Perplexity AI has announced a $34.5 billion (£25.6 billion) takeover bid for Google Chrome, the world’s most widely used web browser with an estimated three billion users.
The three-year-old company, backed by high-profile investors including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and chipmaker Nvidia, is led by former Google and OpenAI employee Aravind Srinivas. However, the offer has drawn scepticism from industry figures, with some dismissing it as unrealistic and significantly undervaluing Chrome.
A spokesperson for Perplexity described the bid as an “important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome.” In a letter to Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai, the firm argued that transferring Chrome to an independent operator dedicated to user safety would serve the public interest.
Perplexity has not disclosed how it would finance the acquisition. The company was valued at approximately $18 billion in July, just over half of the proposed offer. Judith MacKenzie, head of Downing Fund Managers, told the BBC the bid was “unsolicited” and “not actually funded yet.”
Some technology investors have been blunt in their assessments. Heath Ahrens described the move as a “stunt” and said Chrome’s unmatched data and reach make it worth far more. Venture capitalist Tomasz Tunguz estimated Chrome could be worth “ten times more” than Perplexity’s offer.
The timing of the proposal comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of Google. A US federal judge is expected to rule this month on an antitrust case that could force the tech giant to break up its search business. Google has said it would appeal such a decision and has rejected the idea of spinning off Chrome, calling it “unprecedented” and harmful to consumers and online security.
Perplexity, a rising player in the generative technology sector, recently launched an AI-powered browser called Comet. The company has been at the centre of controversy, facing legal complaints from media organisations over alleged copyright infringement. In June, the BBC accused Perplexity of reproducing its content “verbatim” without permission — a claim the company has denied.
Earlier this year, Perplexity also made headlines for offering to purchase the American arm of TikTok, which faces a September deadline to be sold by its Chinese owner or be banned in the US.
As part of its latest proposal, Perplexity has pledged to keep Google as the default search engine on Chrome while allowing users to change their settings. It also said it would maintain support for Chromium, the open-source platform that underpins Chrome and other browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Opera.
