AI-based search engine Perplexity made an unsolicited offer on August 12, 2025, to purchase Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion in cash, a figure more than twenty-two times the total investment capital the company has raised to date. Perplexity promised to keep Chrome's underlying engine, Chromium, open source and invest an additional $3 billion into the project, while also committing not to change user defaults, including maintaining Google as the default search engine.
The offer is closely linked to the antitrust proceedings initiated by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In August 2024, the court found that Google had unlawfully maintained its monopoly in the online search engine market, and in March 2025 the DOJ proposed, among other remedies, the divestiture of Chrome from Google. The actual obligation, however, will be determined by the court, meaning that the DOJ’s proposal provides a procedural framework, but enforcement remains within judicial authority. Chrome is the dominant browser on the market, with a 68% share according to Statcounter data, making it extremely valuable to any prospective owner. The CEO of rival search engine DuckDuckGo stated in April 2025 that Chrome could be worth as much as 50 billion dollars.
The bid for Chrome far exceeds Perplexity's financial resources, as the startup has only raised about $1.5 billion from investors to date, with a current valuation of $18 billion according to Bloomberg. The company stated that several investors have agreed to back the deal, which would help finance the acquisition. Perplexity has made several bold moves recently: in July 2025, it launched its own browser called Comet, and reportedly submitted a bid to merge with TikTok. While Google has not yet officially responded to the offer, the company has previously indicated it would fight the court ruling.
Sources:
Julie Bort
Ashley Capoot
