As part of an ambitious move, the artificial intelligence-based search engine Perplexity offered Google to buy Chrome for $34.5 billion in cash as part of an unsolicited proposal, Reuters reports, which was confirmed by Perplexity to TechCrunch.
Perplexity informs TC that the terms of the offer include a commitment to keep the underlying Chrome engine, Chromium, open source and to continue investing in it. Perplexity’s offer includes a pledge to invest $3 billion in the open source project.
Perplexity also promises not to change Chrome users’ default settings, including their default search engine. In other words, Perplexity promises to leave Google as the default search engine rather than making its own AI-based option the default.
Google could not be reached for comment. TechCrunch will update the article if the company responds.
This proposal came after the Department of Justice proposed in March to force Google to sell Chrome after a judge ruled that the tech giant had acted illegally to maintain its monopoly in online search. Google refused to sell Chrome and promised to appeal the decision.
A representative of Perplexity believes that the court will soon determine the conditions for rectifying the situation, possibly as early as this month. (Google is also involved in another federal case in which a judge found the company guilty of illegally monopolizing advertising technology, and the US Department of Justice is proposing to force Google to sell two of its advertising products or break up its advertising business.)
When the US Department of Justice first proposed that Google sell Chrome, both OpenAI and Perplexity expressed interest in acquiring it. Given that Chrome is the dominant browser with a 68% market share according to Statcounter, if the court rules that Chrome must be sold, other companies around the world will undoubtedly want to participate in the auction as well.
Interestingly, the CEO of rival search engine DuckDuckGo said in April that Chrome could be worth “over $50 billion,” as reported by Bloomberg at the time. If Perplexity’s offer is accepted, it could be considered a bargain.
However, this offer for Chrome far exceeds the amount that Perplexity has raised from investors and the startup’s current valuation. According to PitchBook estimates, Perplexity has raised approximately $1.5 billion to date, including an additional $100 million funding round last month, which valued the company at $18 billion, Bloomberg reports.
Meanwhile, last month Perplexity released its own browser called Comet, seeking to expand its artificial intelligence business without having to serve its customers through a browser, especially one owned by its main competitor, Google.
Incidentally, Perplexity also reportedly filed for a merger with TikTok last month.
