AI startup Perplexity on Tuesday offered $34.5 billion to buy Google’s Chrome browser, positioning itself to challenge the tech giant’s dominance in web search.
The bid is nearly double Perplexity’s valuation at reportedly $18 billion. The company told The Wall Street Journal it has secured backing from several investors and large venture-capital firms to back its transaction in full.
Estimates of Chrome’s enterprise value vary, with recent figures ranging from $20 billion to $50 billion. With 4 billion users, acquiring Chrome would give one company control over nearly 67% of global internet browsing . Still, buying Chrome comes with several complications .
The offer comes days before Judge Amit Mehta is set to rule on Google’s future, potentially forcing the tech giant to spin off