Perplexity AI made an unsolicited offer to purchase Google Chrome for $34.5B, an audacious move that has stunned Silicon Valley. The second shocking part? The amount offered is almost twice the current valuation of Perplexity.
Let’s do a deep dive into what could have prompted this bold move.
Meet Perplexity.
Perplexity is a software company that offers an AI-powered search engine. This company utilizes natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI technologies to provide accurate, real-time responses to user queries.
The company was co-founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas (CEO), a former research intern at Google; Denis Yarats (CTO); Johnny Ho (CSO); and Andy Konwinski.
On 18 July 2025, Perplexity AI secured $100 million in a venture funding round, which brought its total valuation to $18 billion. The funding round attracted participation of new investors like Nvidia, IVP, SoftBank Vision Fund, and NEA.
The recent funding round followed Perplexity’s launch of Comet, an AI-powered browser designed to support automated search, task handling, and summarization. The browser integrates the company’s AI search engine into a full browsing experience, giving a full extension of its core search functionality.
Perplexity’s Bid to Google
Perplexity made an all-cash unsolicited bid to Google on Tuesday, August 12. According to reports from BBC, Perplexity said it would continue to have Google as the default search engine within Chrome, and users will be able to adjust their settings.
In additional reports from The New York Post, Perplexity pledged to:
- Commit $3 billion in a span of two years into the Chromium engine
- Keep Chrome’s core code open-source
- Make no changes to user defaults
Why now? Antitrust Fires & Strategic Timing
Google is currently facing the fire of a landmark antitrust verdict that deemed Google held an illegal monopoly in search. The verdict given by Judge Leonie Brinkema on April 17, 2025, ruled that Google had “willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts that enabled it to acquire and maintain a monopoly.”
The case is expected to have an additional ruling this month, which could involve Google being made to break up its search business. Chrome currently has an estimate of three billion users.
Perplexity’s timing couldn’t be more tactful. Should the verdict for Google to break up its search business be given, Google might actually have to sell.
Perplexity is taking the opportunity to position itself as a willing buyer if the court does order a divestiture. According to BBC reports, a spokesman for Perplexity said the bid marks an “important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome.”
In additional reports from BBC, Perplexity reportedly sent a letter to Google’s owner, Alphabet, that moving Chrome to an independent operator committed to user safety would benefit the company.
What are analysts saying?
Google is estimated to be worth anywhere from $20B to $50B by some estimates. Perplexity’s offer for a $34.5B bid has garnered reactions among analysts as a bold publicity stunt. However, it has also brought to light a deeper play.
Technology investor Heath Ahrens called Perplexity’s move a “stunt,” and its bid “nowhere near Chrome’s true value, given its unmatched data and reach.”
“I love their boldness, but this is an unsolicited bid and not actually funded yet,” Judith MacKenzie, head of Downing Fund Managers, told BBC.
Should any AI-powered service own Chrome, they would gain access to the already large pool of users, which means a larger data pool to train AI models. For users, it could mean better privacy tools, fewer ads, and an AI-driven experience.
However, Google isn’t selling yet. And even if it eventually does, there will be more offers higher than what Perplexity is offering.
Final Thoughts
While Perplexity’s bid is seeming like a “David and Goliath play” according to reactions online, the company has, however, been able to achieve one thing, ” Publicity.”
Perplexity recently launched its own browser, “Comet,” in July, and this bold move has surely garnered attention for it. So whether or not the bid eventually falls through (it’s obviously going to fall through), Perplexity will most likely be getting more investors and users.
