Perplexity makes $34.5bn all-cash bid for Google’s Chrome in bold AI search play

Led by CEO Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to high-profile moves. Earlier this year, it proposed merging with TikTok US to address Washington’s concerns over the app’s Chinese ownership.

Now, by acquiring Chrome’s more than three billion users, the three-year-old firm hopes to gain a decisive edge in the AI search race as regulatory heat intensifies on Google.

Reuters reported that Google, which has not offered Chrome for sale, declined to comment.

The tech giant plans to appeal a US court ruling that found it unlawfully monopolised online search.

The Justice Department has proposed Chrome’s divestiture as part of the case’s remedies, with a federal judge expected to rule on them this month.

Perplexity, backed by investors including Nvidia and SoftBank, has raised about $1 billion so far.

The company did not reveal how it would fund the deal, though a source said multiple funds had offered to cover the cost in full.

Browsers are re-emerging as strategic gateways to search traffic and user data in the AI era.

Perplexity already runs an AI browser, Comet, and says acquiring Chrome would allow it to compete more aggressively with rivals like OpenAI, which is building its own AI browser and has also shown interest in Chrome.

According to a term sheet seen by Reuters, Perplexity has pledged to keep Chrome’s Chromium code open source, invest $3 billion over two years, and maintain Google’s search engine as the default.

The startup claims the move would safeguard user choice and ease competition concerns.

However, analysts believe Google would fiercely resist selling Chrome, which is central to its AI push, including the rollout of AI-generated search summaries known as “Overviews.”

DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg has said Chrome could be worth at least $50 billion if Google were forced to sell it — well above Perplexity’s offer. Other interested parties reportedly include Yahoo and Apollo Global Management.