Aravind Srinivas' Perplexity, itself valued at $18 billion, makes a $34.5 billion all-cash offer to buy Google Chrome

Time of India

a day ago

Image credits: Getty Images
Aravind Srinivas-led AI company
Perplexity
has submitted an unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer to acquire
Google
's Chrome browser. The three-year-old startup confirmed it sent the formal bid to Google, despite being valued at just $18 billion itself. The bold move comes as Chrome commands over three billion users worldwide, making it a prize asset in the heated race for AI-powered search dominance.
"Multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full," said Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko. The company has raised around $1 billion so far from major investors including Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank, but declined to name which funds would back this massive acquisition.
What Perplexity's Chrome deal includes
Perplexity's offer goes beyond just the $34.5 billion price tag. The company has outlined specific commitments designed to address potential regulatory and user concerns about the acquisition.
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The startup pledges to invest $3 billion over two years in Chrome development and infrastructure improvements. It promises to keep the underlying
Chromium
code open source, ensuring other browser makers can continue building on the platform. Crucially, Perplexity says it won't change Chrome's default search engine settings.
"This is part of our commitment to continuity and choice for users, and will likely be seen as having the benefit of stability for Google and its many advertisers," a Perplexity spokesperson said.
The all-cash offer includes no equity component, which Perplexity says avoids potential antitrust complications. According to the term sheet, the company would also "extend offers to a substantial portion of Chrome talent" to retain key developers and engineers.
Google's antitrust case creates rare opportunity for Perplexity
The timing is no accident. A federal judge ruled last year that Google holds an illegal monopoly in internet search, and now the Department of Justice wants the tech giant to sell Chrome as the primary remedy. US District Judge Amit Mehta is expected to rule on final penalties any day now, potentially forcing Google into the largest corporate breakup in decades.
"To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google's control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser," the DOJ wrote in court filings.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Chrome commands over three billion users worldwide - more than a third of all internet users - making it the ultimate prize in the AI search wars. The browser feeds Google's $300 billion advertising empire by tracking user behavior, search patterns, and website visits across the entire web.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Chrome commands over three billion users worldwide - more than a third of all internet users - making it the ultimate prize in the AI search wars. The browser feeds Google's $300 billion advertising empire by tracking user behavior, search patterns, and website visits across the entire web.
Without Chrome, Google would lose its most valuable window into user behavior and face a much tougher battle to maintain its 90% dominance in global search.
For Perplexity and other AI search challengers like OpenAI (which once had shown interest in an similar purchase), acquiring Chrome would provide instant access to billions of users who currently default to Google search. It would also break Google's stranglehold on the browser market, where Chrome holds roughly 65% market share globally. The browser integration has been crucial to Google's ability to promote its AI features like Search Overviews and fend off competition from chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity's own AI search engine.
But significant challenges remain for Srinivas & co. Google has shown no interest in selling Chrome and plans to appeal the antitrust ruling through potentially years of legal battles. The $34.5 billion bid also falls short of the at least $50 billion valuation that DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg has suggested Chrome could command in a forced sale scenario.
This marks Perplexity's second major acquisition attempt this year, following its January offer to merge with TikTok's US operations.
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