Google offered $34.5 bn for Chrome

TDT | Manama

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Perplexity AI offered Google $34.5 billion for its popular Chrome web browser, which the internet giant could potentially be forced to sell as part of antitrust proceedings.

The whopping sum proposed in a letter of intent by Perplexity is nearly double the value of the startup, which was reportedly $18 billion in a recent funding round.

“This proposal is designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator focused on continuity, openness, and consumer protection,” Perplexity chief executive Aravind Srinivas said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

Google is awaiting US District Court Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling on what “remedies” to impose, following a landmark decision last year that said the tech titan maintained an illegal monopoly in online search.

US government attorneys have called for Google to divest itself of the Chrome browser, contending that artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the tech giant’s dominance as the goto window into the internet.

Google has urged Mehta to reject the divestment, and his decision is expected by the end of the month. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Perplexity’s offer vastly undervalues Chrome and “should not be taken seriously,” Baird Equity Research analysts said in a note to investors.

Given that Perplexity already has a browser that competes with Chrome, the San Francisco-based startup could be trying to spark others to bid or “influence the pending decision” in the antitrust case, Baird analysts theorized.

“Either way, we believe Perplexity would view an independent Chrome -- or one no longer affiliated with Google -- as an advantage as it attempts to take browser share,” Baird analysts told investors.