Perplexity's $34.5B Chrome bid: How AI is fueling the next browser wars
Google parent Alphabet's share price held steady on Tuesday, indicating that investors do not appear to be taking Perplexity's offer to buy Chrome seriously.
However, Perplexity's move is still significant as it is targeted at one of Google's prized assets even as the US government pushes to break up the big tech company. The $34.5 billion potential price tag also highlights the growing strategic importance of web browsers in the age of AI.
Perplexity has positioned itself as a challenger to Google with its generative AI-powered search products. The San Francisco-based startup closed a $100 million funding round in July this year at a valuation of $18 billion, as per reports. Its offer to buy Chrome at nearly twice its own value has drawn skepticism from analysts, tech columnists, and others.
To be sure, Perplexity has said it will seek the help of outside investors to fund the $34.5 billion bid for Chrome. The company added that it would not make stealth modifications to the web browser, and has further offered to invest $3 billion in Chrome and its underlying web infrastructure over the next two years if the deal goes through. But that is still a very big if.
The deal would realistically be possible only if the US district court rules in favour of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and forces Google to spin out its market-leading web browser, among other proposed remedies.
In a landmark antitrust ruling last year, Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia held that Google had an illegal monopoly of the online search market. The case then entered the remedies phase, where Judge Mehta heard arguments from both Google and the DOJ on the most appropriate ways to address the tech giant's anti-competitive behaviour and create a more equal playing field for other search competitors.
The DOJ, which filed the landmark case against Google in 2020, called for the company's divestiture of Chrome. It also proposed to prohibit Google from making exclusive search deals with smartphone makers and browser developers to set its search engine as the default. For instance, the company reportedly pays Apple over $20 billion every year to make Google Search the default search engine on iPhones.
Another proposed remedy by the DOJ is to make Google Search more interoperable. This would involve the company providing access to valuable search data such as ranking signals, US-originated query data, and its search index at a 'marginal cost, and on an ongoing basis.'
In its defence, Google has argued that 'the DOJ's proposal to break off Chrome — which billions of people use for free — would break it and result in a shadow of the current Chrome.' The browser would likely become 'insecure and obsolete', Parisa Tabriz, vice president and general manager, Google Chrome, said.
Google's counter-proposal is to let smartphone makers and browser developers have multiple default search agreements.
With Judge Mehta set to rule on the proposed remedies this month, there is blood in the water as AI companies like Perplexity move to challenge Google's search dominance by trying to take Chrome off its hands.
How does this tie into the browser wars?
The second, and more strategic reason AI companies are eyeing web browsers is the shift in user behaviour. People are increasingly turning to AI chatbots like ChatGPT instead of traditional search engines to look up information online.
Eddy Cue, a senior Apple executive, testified in the Google antitrust remedies case that search volume to its Safari browser had declined for the first time in 22 years. Cue linked the drop in search volume to the rise of AI chatbots.
However, AI chatbots lack user context. Unlike traditional web browsers, chatbots do not offer insights into a user's online activity such as reading articles, writing emails, online shopping, etc. Tech startups like Perplexity, The Browser Company, and even OpenAI are looking to fill this gap by developing AI native web browsers, where the traditional search bar is replaced by an AI chatbot or agent. To be sure, Google is also testing a Gemini integration in Chrome.
Perplexity on Wednesday announced that its agentic AI browser Comet is available to all Pro subscribers in the US. 'We'll start expanding access every week going forward to make Comet generally available to all Perplexity Pro users,' CEO Aravind Srinivas said in a post on X.
Comet is a desktop browser that primarily relies on an AI agent to respond to user queries with links to relevant websites. It comes with several advanced features such as the ability to describe an image on a user's screen or perform deeper research about a particular topic. Users can also prompt the AI agent within Comet to take control of the browser and autonomously perform tasks such as sending an email or posting on a social media platform.
For Perplexity, the appeal of Google Chrome is most likely its distribution.
Google Chrome has a market share of 70 per cent in the global desktop browser market and a 67 per cent share in the mobile browser market. It has around 3.5 to 4 billion users globally, as per the DOJ.
While Chrome's business model is not highly lucrative on its own, it plays a pivotal role in Google's search flywheel. The browser gathers data that feeds into its search engine, which uses the data to show more relevant search results as well as targeted ads. Note, search-related advertising makes up a bulk of Google's revenue.
Chrome could also serve as a direct channel for Perplexity to showcase its latest and most advanced AI products, where users can experience their capabilities without actively seeking it out.
It is likely that other AI companies will also throw their names into the running. Nick Turley, ChatGPT's head of product, testified during Google's antitrust remedies trial that OpenAI would be interested in buying Chrome. While ChatGPT already has web search features baked into it, the company would be able to potentially bring its AI chatbot to even more users with Chrome.
Brian Provost, Yahoo's Search General Manager, also testified that the company would be open to buying Chrome with the help of its parent firm Apollo Global Management.
However, big tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are unlikely to pursue Chrome as it would be difficult to pass antitrust scrutiny.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
3 minutes ago
- Mint
How Brazil's Sugar Powerhouse Raízen Became a Penny Stock
It was just another Tuesday morning in the heart of Brazil's sugarcane region when workers in Sertãozinho, a small town four hours away from Sao Paulo, heard the news. Almost everyone working at Raízen SA's Santa Elisa sugar and ethanol mill was losing their job. The facility, which had propelled the town's economy for almost 90 years, was idling work, indefinitely. 'I felt numb, I looked into people's eyes and I saw sadness in them,' Natã Nobrega, a technician that worked at the mill for two decades, said in an interview last month. 'Nobody expected it.' The July closing of Santa Elisa, once the largest mill in top sugar producer Brazil, was a warning sign: its owner Raízen, a joint venture between Brazil's Cosan SA and London-based Shell Plc, was in trouble. It was a stark change in fortunes for a company that went public just four years ago as Latin America's largest share sale of 2021. On Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Rafael Bergman delivered a bombshell: Raízen was 'in active talks' for a capital injection after its debt ballooned 56% in the past year and the company burned through a 7-billion-real cash pile in the three months ended June 30. The shares tumbled as much as 15% in Sao Paulo after the news to a record low of just 1.02 reais . That's the stock's biggest slump since the company went public. It's now at a fraction of the record 7.60 reais it reached on its first day of trading. Raising capital was until now seen by most analysts as a remote possibility. After all, Cosan is controlled by Brazilian billionaire Rubens Ometto, who has historically liked to keep a firm grip on his businesses — fresh capital would dilute his power and influence. Cosan executives on Friday said the Brazilian holding company is now open to outside investment in Raízen. 'Bringing in a strategic partner is an option we do like,' Chief Executive Officer Marcelo Martins said. A new partner, he added, needs to be someone whose view about the business is 'in line with ours and Shell's strategy.' While lowering debt could 'clear the way for investors to regain interest in the stock,' for now the move means current shareholders will see their ownership diluted, analysts at UBS BB led by Matheus Enfeldt said in a report on Thursday. When Raízen was formed in 2011, Shell and Cosan painted a bright outlook, estimating the venture could reach $12 billion in value. Indeed, the IPO valued it at $14.3 billion. To meet its ambitious growth plans, Raízen's spending almost doubled in the past four years, while rising interest rates sent its debt surging. At the end of June, net debt stood at 49 billion reais, up from 31.6 billion a year earlier. To make matters worse, Raízen acquired Louis Dreyfus Holding BV's Biosev, a Brazilian sugar business that was bleeding cash and whose mills weren't always the most efficient. Raízen's bets on second-generation biofuels, traceable sugar and sustainable aviation fuel haven't paid off. The company, now barely worth $2 billion, is pulling the brakes on plans to make ethanol from cane residuals and its hopes to export ethanol to the US to make sustainable aviation fuel were hit with 50% tariffs. While years of low sugar and ethanol prices have also hurt the broader industry, Raízen has underperformed peers including Sao Martinho SA and Jalles Machado SA. In a bid to stay afloat, Raízen went through a management overhaul last year, naming Nelson Roseira Gomes Neto, a former Cosan executive, as the top boss. It also began to sell assets, having already disposed of its Leme sugar mill in Piracicaba, two hours away from Sao Paulo, and 55 units that generated electricity from renewable sources. There's more to come. Asset divestments so far accounted for the equivalent of just 7% of the net debt, Chief Executive Officer Gomes Neto said. The company is also in talks to sell mills in Mato Grosso do Sul state and of the group's oil refinery and gas stations in Argentina, Bloomberg reported. 'The divestment journey will continue,' Bergman said on Thursday. 'We acknowledge that this is not a short-term journey.' It may also get a new investor, with Lazard advising Shell and Itau advising Cosan, Valor Economico newspaper reported on Thursday. The new partner is expected to bring liquidity to the company while plans to sell assets aren't fully completed. In Sertãozinho, as many as 1,200 people would end up losing their job at the Santa Elisa mill, a unit Raízen acquired as part of the Biosev deal. It wasn't how people in town expected things to go. 'I thought it could one day go back to what it used to be,' said Maurilio Biagi Filho, a former executive who ran Santa Elisa — a mill his grandfather acquired in 1936 — for years before the sale to Dreyfus. 'But economic factors outweigh any other scenario.' With assistance from Leda Alvim and Gerson Freitas Jr.. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Economic Times
3 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Dow Chemical signs 2.5 lakh sq ft office lease at Navi Mumbai's Mindspace Airoli
Synopsis Dow Chemicals International has leased 2.56 lakh sq ft of office space in Navi Mumbai's Airoli, marking a significant transaction in the city's IT sector. The 10-year lease, valued at approximately Rs 250 crore, underscores the resilience of Mumbai's commercial office market. TIL Creatives Representative Image Dow Chemicals International has picked up over 2.56 lakh sq ft office space in an information technology park in Navi Mumbai's Airoli locality through a long-term lease spanning over 10 years, marking one of the largest recent transactions in the city's IT and business parks US-headquartered chemical major has taken up five floors from 2nd to 6th in one of towers of Mindspace Special Economic Zone, owned by Mindspace Business Parks. The company is estimated to pay around Rs 250 crore rentals through the entire term of the lease. The lease, starting 15 September, will see Dow Chemical will paying a monthly rental of Rs 1.64 crore, translating into Rs 64 per sq ft on the chargeable area. The agreement includes a clause to escalate rentals by 5% every year. The transaction also involves a security deposit of Rs 14.77 addition to the standard lease terms, the deal includes a fit-out security deposit of Rs 82.09 crore, which will be refunded in tranches of 10% each year, and a fit-out rent of Rs 29.45 per sq ft per month, with no escalation through the term, showed the documents accessed through realty data analytics firm transaction underscores the resilience of the commercial office market in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), particularly in large-format, high-quality spaces catering to multinational occupiers. With global corporates increasingly consolidating operations into technology hubs like Navi Mumbai, such deals point towards sustained demand despite a hybrid work environment. Industry experts tracking the segment say that high-value, long-tenure leases in established business parks indicate occupiers' confidence in India's medium- to long-term growth story and their commitment to scaling local email queries to Dow Chemicals and Mindspace Business Parks remained commercial office market recorded a landmark performance in the last financial year, with leasing activity reaching an all-time high. The surge was driven by a combination of expansion plans by global and domestic occupiers, portfolio consolidation, and the preference for high-quality, well-connected office spaces in major business momentum is widely expected to carry forward into 2026, supported by sustained demand from key sectors such as global capability centres (GCCs), banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) institutions, flexible workspace operators, and leading Indian technology companies. These segments continue to account for the largest share of fresh leasing as well as renewals, underpinned by India's cost competitiveness, skilled workforce, and strong digital infrastructure.
Economic Times
3 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Mystery Bitcoin investor turns $50 into millions with mind-blowing 59,999,900% return - here's his story
How Bitcoin investor turned $50 into $30 million: An anonymous Bitcoin holder moved 300 BTC mined in 2013. The coins were worth $50 then and are now valued at $30 million. Pete Rizzo spotted the move. Bitcoin surpassed Google in market capitalization. It reached $2.456 trillion. The crypto community celebrated the investor's patience. Bitcoin's surge is due to market forces. These include institutional adoption and inflation fears. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Early Bitcoin Holder Moves 300 BTC After Over a Decade BTC Mined for Just $50, Now Worth Over $30 Million Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Bitcoin Surpasses Google in Market Cap Milestone Bitcoin's 2025 Surge Driven by Global Market Forces Crypto Community Celebrates Patience and Foresight Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs In a year already packed with astonishing crypto headlines, one anonymous Bitcoin holder has stunned the crypto community by quietly moving a stash of 300 BTC, mined for just $50 over a decade ago, now worth $30 million, as per a move was first spotted by Pete Rizzo, who broke the news on X (formerly Twitter), known on X as The Bitcoin Historian, on August 14, according to The Street user wrote, 'JUST IN: SOMEONE JUST MOVED 300 #BITCOIN THAT THEY MINED FOR LESS THAN $50 IN 2013,' as quoted by The Street. Rizzo added, 'THEY HELD FROM $3K TO $30 MILLION. LEGEND,' as quoted in the READ: Opendoor CEO Carrie Wheeler quits suddenly, stock jumps 9% as Shrisha Radhakrishna steps in as new president Back in 2013, Bitcoin was trading at around $13 per coin, reported The Street. At that price, the 300 BTC could be mined for a few dozen dollars' worth of electricity and hardware costs, according to the now, in 2025, as Bitcoin is trading above $120,000 after it recently broke its all-time high, it has turned that once-small reward into a generational windfall, as per the today's market, those 300 BTC are worth more than $30 million, that means it is a return on investment of over 59,999,900%, as reported by The READ: Recession alarm? New York City job market collapses, only 956 hires in 6 months — worst in decades This comes as Bitcoin on August 13 increased more than its previous all-time high, briefly topping $124,000, and overtook Google in market capitalization, reaching $2.456 trillion, compared to Google's $2.450 trillion, as reported by CoinGecko. The milestone has positioned BTC as the fifth-largest asset in the world by market cap, according to The Street price run this year is because of a mix of macroeconomic forces, like the institutional adoption, fears of inflation, and also political uncertainty, as per the report. Market optimism further was fuelled as the US is reportedly considering a strategic Bitcoin reserve and global mining capacity is becoming more decentralised, according to The Street READ: As the July jobs report paints a grim picture, 114 companies plan layoffs in August - is yours on the list? Meanwhile, the crypto community immediately reacted online on social media X to the mysterious investor with 59,999,900% gains, according to the X user wrote, 'Diamond hands has a new definition,' as quoted by The Street. The term 'diamond hands' in Bitcoin culture is used to describe holders who resist the urge to sell, no matter the volatility, according to The Street. Like this early miner, who held on to it for more than a decade, sitting through Bitcoin's crash from $1,000 in 2013, the 2018 bear market plunge to $3,000, and the brutal 2022 crypto winter, as reported by The said, 'Holding from $3K to $30M isn't luck, it's a masterclass in patience and conviction,' adding, 'How many early holders still have the nerve to let history repeat itself?' as quoted in the one more user wrote that, 'Satoshi would be proud,' as quoted in The Street report.A mix of institutional adoption, inflation concerns, political uncertainty, and exploration of a US Bitcoin reserve, as per The Street identity is unknown, it was likely an early miner who held onto their BTC for over a decade.
