“Perplexity” has proposed to buy Google’s widely used “Chrome” browser for $34.5 billion. The offer includes commitments to preserve the open-source Chromium project that underpins the browser and to invest an additional $3 billion into it.
Perplexity has also pledged not to change users’ browser settings, including keeping Google as the default search engine, and not to make its own AI-powered search system the default.
This move comes amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google. The company has rejected the sale and stated that it will contest the ruling in court. Chrome currently holds a 68% share of the global browser market. If the court orders the sale, other companies are also expected to submit offers.
Although Perplexity is still a startup, it is considered a strong player. The company has raised approximately $1.5 billion from investors, with a current valuation of $18 billion. Last month, Perplexity launched its own “Comet” browser and also submitted a bid to merge with TikTok. These moves signal the company’s ambition to expand its presence in the AI-powered search market.
