Overview

• Perplexity AI has submitted a formal $34.5 billion offer to purchase Google’s Chrome browser, backed by commitments from multiple large investment funds.
• The startup has pledged $3 billion for Chromium development, initial default-search arrangements with Google, and absorption of key Chrome engineering staff.
• Google has neither agreed to sell Chrome nor commented on the proposal and plans to appeal any court-ordered divestiture.
• Industry analysts question the realism of the bid given Perplexity’s roughly $18 billion valuation and the technical and legal challenges of splitting Chrome from Google’s ecosystem.
• Judge Amit Mehta is expected to rule later this month on potential remedies in the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case, including a forced sale of Chrome.