As a federal antitrust investigation into Google’s Chrome browser wraps up, rivals are striking: Perplexity has launched an unsolicited bid to buy Chrome for a whopping $34.5 billion, according to reports.
Bloomberg reported the proposed deal, confirmed by a Perplexity representative, as did The Wall Street Journal.
But there’s a hitch: Perplexity doesn’t have $34.5 billion to fund the deal with. In fact, the WSJ estimates its own valuation at just $18 billion. This means Perplexity would have to come up with another source of cash, and it appears that it has done just that. Perplexity chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko told Bloomberg that “multiple large investment firms have agreed to finance the deal.”
Google Chrome is built upon Chromium, the open-source foundation that powers virtually all of Chrome’s rival browsers, including Microsoft Edge, its closest rival on Windows. In the United States, Chrome holds 51.05 percent of all user sessions, Statcounter reports. According to the WSJ, Perplexity agreed to maintain Chromium and keep Google as the default search engine within Chrome, at least for now.
Last August, a federal judge found Google’s search and advertising business to be an illegal monopoly. In November of 2024, the Department of Justice proposed a dramatic remedy–that Google should sell Chrome. And with that, the vultures started circling: ChatGPT expressed interest in buying Chrome. In April, Perplexity and Yahoo also expressed interest in buying Chrome.
Google, in an attempt to curry favor with the government, killed off its DEI initiatives and chief executive Sundar Pichai tried to glad-hand President Trump at his inauguration. So far, those efforts haven’t worked. Google also said that it’ll appeal the ruling.
Now, it’s up to Google to accept or reject the deal–or to force Perplexity’s rivals to put their money where their mouths are. One thing is clear: Google’s Chrome is a hot property, even if it isn’t clear how any bidder will rake in enough revenue from a (mostly) free browser to recoup its payment.
