AI startup bids $34.5 billion for Chrome amid legal pressure on Google
Date: 2025-08-14 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
Perplexity, an AI startup, has made a high-profile offer to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion. According to The Wall Street Journal, the initiative is aimed at weakening Google's dominance in Internet search.
The amount requested by Perplexity is almost double the company's own market valuation of about $18 billion. Several major venture capitalists have reportedly expressed their willingness to fully finance the deal. At the same time, experts estimate the value of Chrome at between $20 billion and $50 billion. Google, in turn, declined to comment on the offer.
Perplexity's interest arose amid a high-profile antitrust case in the United States. Federal Judge Amit Mehta is considering forcing Google to sell Chrome in order to reduce the company's monopoly influence on the search market. In 2024, the court found Google guilty of illegally monopolizing the industry, and a final decision on measures is expected in the coming weeks.
In an official letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Perplexity said that the purchase of the browser will satisfy the requirements of antitrust authorities by transferring Chrome to an “independent and financially stable operator” in the interests of users.
Google has previously warned that forced sale or transfer of user data to competitors could negatively affect the business, slow down the implementation of new technologies and create security risks. Chrome today has about 3.5 billion users and holds more than 60% of the global browser market.
If the deal is successful, Perplexity plans to continue developing Chromium, an open source project that powers Chrome and a number of other browsers. At the same time, Google will remain the default search engine, but users will be able to change the settings.
Analysts believe that the likelihood that the judge will actually rule to sell Chrome is low. However, Mehta acknowledged at the hearing that such a move would be “simpler and more elegant” than other options for increasing competition.
It is noted that other tech players have also shown interest in Chrome. In particular, OpenAI considered buying the browser to strengthen its position in the Internet search segment.
The situation around the possible sale of Chrome has become one of the key events in the field of technology and antitrust regulation, and its development could significantly change the balance of power in the browser and search market.
