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3d ago

Perplexity Proposes $34.5 Billion All-Cash Purchase of Google’s Chrome Browser

The proposal includes open-source guarantees, a $3 billion investment pledge plus a default-search assurance as regulators prepare to rule on Chrome’s divestiture.

The Google Chrome website on a smartphone
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Overview

  • Perplexity AI submitted an unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash bid to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, a proposal worth nearly double its $18 billion valuation.
  • The bid pledges to keep the Chromium codebase open source, invest $3 billion over two years in Chrome’s development and maintain the current default search settings.
  • While Perplexity says multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full, it has not provided specific funding details.
  • Google has not put Chrome on the market, plans to appeal the antitrust ruling that found it a search monopolist and is expected to resist any forced divestiture.
  • A Department of Justice remedies decision is expected soon, and other suitors such as OpenAI, Yahoo and Apollo remain interested despite legal and technical hurdles.