Perplexity offers $34.5 billion for Chrome as AI firms target browsers

The AI startup Perplexity made an all-cash, unsolicited offer to acquire Chrome, the browser owned by Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet. Perplexity is not the first company that has tried to buy Chrome, taking into account that OpenAI or Yahoo have expressed their intention to get hold of the internet giant.

Google is facing a case of monopoly in search services and search advertising, which could lead to important changes in search agreements and general data management sharing. This case could put pressure on Google, the subsidiary of Alphabet, to sell the browser. However, to date, the company has not expressed an intention to sell Chrome.

This offer comes as a surprise for several reasons, but one stands out: the offer is bigger than Perplexity’s market valuation, estimated at $14 billion. Perplexity offered $34.5 billion, all-cash, and argued that several funds have offered to finance the deal; however, Perplexity did not name them, as a term sheet known by Reuters says.

This document also points out that Perplexity would keep Chromium, the open-source browser, invest $3 billion over two years, and keep the default search engine without changes.

In the middle of the legal process, Google could be pressed to get rid of part of its business, to comply with antitrust regulations, which could open opportunities for buying. The ruling by federal judge Amit Mehta is expected between August and September. Nevertheless, Google has stated that it will appeal the decision.

Chrome represents around 68% of the browsing market, according to the Global Browser Market Share 2025. This is a mine of search data that could lead to understanding search queries and behavioural patterns, very valuable for large language models and AI training.  This explains why many AI players are interested in acquiring Chrome, as it would bypass the existing reliance on Google to access this data.

After the offer, Google has made no comments.