Startup company “plays big”, wants to buy Chrome browser for 34.5 billion USD

This information was first revealed by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by a representative of Perplexity AI.

Notably, the deal is worth more than Perplexity AI’s current valuation of $18 billion, but the company said it has secured several investors to help finance the Chrome acquisition.

As for Google, the company has not yet made any comments on the offer from Perplexity AI.

Perplexity AI's Ambition

Founded in 2022, Perplexity AI has quickly risen to become one of the world's leading AI companies, famous for its artificial intelligence-powered search engine. Perplexity's AI engine is highly regarded for its ability to provide intuitive answers and in-depth search suggestions.

Last month, the company also launched an AI-powered web browser called Comet.

Perplexity has previously been targeted for acquisition by tech giants like Meta and Apple for tens of billions of dollars, but the company has refused. Perplexity AI's desire to spend $34.5 billion to acquire Chrome shows that the company has its own ambitions and directions, and has no intention of "selling out" to big tech companies.

Why does Perplexity AI want to buy Chrome?

Perplexity AI's offer to buy Chrome comes after the US Justice Department recommended that Google divest its Chrome web browser, a move that would settle an antitrust case it lost last year.

The judge in the antitrust case ruled that Google was maintaining an illegal monopoly by bundling its search engine into the Chrome browser, another Google product.

Google said the US Department of Justice had interfered with the company's operations in an extreme way, but has not said whether it wants to sell Chrome.

Chrome, first launched in 2008, has quickly become the world's most popular web browser on both desktop and mobile devices.

If the Chrome acquisition goes through, Perplexity could integrate its AI search engine into the massively popular web browser, giving the company quick access to a large market. Perplexity could also use data from browser users to train its AI engine or generate advertising revenue.

This isn’t the first time Perplexity has made a bold move. Back in January, the company made an offer to buy TikTok, a move that would have allowed TikTok to continue operating in the US without being affected by the ban.

However, this offer has not yet been approved by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/cong-ty-khoi-nghiep-choi-lon-muon-mua-trinh-duyet-chrome-gia-345-ty-usd-20250813123225704.htm