Perplexity Makes Unsolicited Bid to Buy Google’s Chrome Browser

Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity reportedly made an unsolicited offer to buy Google’s browser, Chrome, amid the uncertainty around a pending antitrust ruling that could see a judge force Google to sell the browser.

Several investors have agreed to back the $34.5 billion offer in full, Perplexity said, according to a Tuesday (Aug. 12) report by The Wall Street Journal.

The estimated valuation of Perplexity is $18 billion, and estimates of the enterprise value of Chrome range from $20 billion to $50 billion, the report said.

The WSJ characterized Perplexity’s offer as a long shot, saying that Google has not indicated a willingness to sell Chrome and that Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told the judge in the antitrust case earlier this year that Google’s business would be harmed if it were forced to sell the browser.

Perplexity said in a letter to Pichai, per the report, that its offer is “designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator.”

The Department of Justice and 11 states filed the antitrust lawsuit against Google in October 2020, alleging that the company used anticompetitive tactics to preserve its dominance in search and search advertising.

The judge concluded in August 2024 that Google’s business practices violated antitrust laws. Google said the same day that it planned to appeal.

It was reported in March that after the judge ruled that Google held an illegal search monopoly, the DOJ sought a court order that would compel the company to sell Chrome.

Prosecutors wrote in court papers: “The American dream is about higher values than just cheap goods and ‘free’ online services. These values include freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to innovate, and freedom to compete in a market undistorted by the controlling hand of a monopolist.”

A Google spokesperson said at the time that the DOJ’s proposals “continue to go miles beyond the court’s decision and would harm America’s consumers, economy and national security.”

In April, it was reported that an OpenAI executive told the court that Chrome would have many potential buyers if it were spun off, with OpenAI among them.

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