In the Moonshot move, AI search engine Perplexity offers to buy Chrome from Google for $34.5 billion in cash on an unsolicited offer, Reuters reported, and Perplexity confirmed with TechCrunch.
Perplexity tells TC that the terms of the offer include a commitment to maintaining and continuing to invest in Chrome’s underlying engine, Chromium, and open source. Perplexity’s offer includes a commitment to invest $3 billion in open source projects.
I’m also embarrassed that I don’t change the defaults for Chrome users, including Default Search Engine. In other words, Prperxity promises to leave Google as a search engine, rather than defaulting its own AI-powered options.
Google could not be reached for comment. TechCrunch will update articles if the company responds.
The bid comes after Google proposed in March that it would be forced to sell Chrome after it ruled that the tech giant acted illegally to maintain its monopoly in online searches. Google has not agreed to the sale of Chrome and has vowed to fight the ruling.
A spokesman for Perplexity believes that the court will soon set conditions for the relief package later this month. (Google is also fighting another federal case in which a judge illegally monopolized Adtech, and DOJ suggests that Google will be forced to sell two AdTech products or dissolve other advertising businesses.)
When DOJ first proposed that Google sell Chrome, both Openai and Prplexity expressed interest in purchasing it. Given that Chrome is the dominant browser and has a market share of 68% according to StatCounter, if you need to sell Chrome’s rules, others around the world will want to bid as well.
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Interestingly, the CEO of Rival Search Engine Duckduckgo testified in April that Chrome was worth “over $50 billion,” Bloomberg reported at the time. If Perplexity offers are successful, it could be considered a bargain.
Still, this offer for Chrome is more than stumping from investors, and is far higher than the startup’s current rating. According to Bloomberg, Pitplexity has raised about $1.5 billion so far, including Pitchbook estimates, including an extension round of $100 million raised last month.
In the meantime, Perplexity launched its own browser last month called Comet, launching it to grow its AI search business without serving its customers through browsers, especially browsers owned by its main rival Google.
And, by the way, last month, confusion reportedly submitted a bid to merge with Tiktok.
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