In a moonshot move, AI search engine Perplexity has offered to buy Chrome from Google for $34.5 billion cash in an unsolicited offer,Reuters reportedand Perplexity has confirmed to TechCrunch.
Perplexity tells TC the terms of the offer include a commitment to keep Chrome’s underlying engine, Chromium, open source and continue to invest in it. Perplexity’s offer includes a promise to invest $3 billion into the open source project.
Perplexity is also promising not to change the user defaults of Chrome users, including the default search engine. That is, Perplexity is promising to leave Google as the search engine rather than making its own AI-powered option the default.
Google could not be reached for comment. TechCrunch will update the article if the company responds.
This bid comes after the Department of Justice proposed in March thatGoogle be forced to sell Chromeafter a judgeruled the tech giant acted illegallyto maintain a monopoly in online search. Google has not agreed to sell Chrome and has vowed to fight the ruling.
The Perplexity spokesperson believes the court will soon set terms for remedies, perhaps later this month. (Google is also fightinganother federal case where the judge ruled it illegallymonopolized adtech, and the DOJ is proposing Google be forced to divest two of its adtech products or otherwise break up its ad business.)
When the DOJ first proposed that Google divest Chrome,both OpenAIandPerplexityexpressed interest in buying it. Given that Chrome is the dominant browser, with 68% marketshareaccording to Statcounter,if the court rules Chrome must be sold, no doubt others worldwide would want to bid as well.
In the meantime, Perplexity last monthlaunched its own browser, called Comet,in its bid to grow its AI search business without having to serve its customers through a browser, particularly one owned by its main rival Google.
And, by the way, last month, Perplexity also reportedlysubmitted a bid to merge with TikTok.
Source: Techcrunch
