Perplexity AI offers to buy Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion

Nickie Louise Posted On August 12, 2025

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Perplexity AI shocked the tech world on Tuesday with a $34.5 billion offer to buy Google’s Chrome browser — a move already backed by investors, despite being nearly double the company’s own valuation. The unsolicited bid, confirmed Tuesday by CNBC, wasn’t invited, but Perplexity says it has investors lined up to make it happen.

The number is almost double Perplexity’s own valuation, which hit $18 billion in July after an extension round earlier in the year pegged it at $14 billion. Still, the company claims several heavyweight investors are on board to help fund the deal. Google hasn’t commented, and the Wall Street Journal first reported the bid.

“Artificial-intelligence startup Perplexity on Tuesday offered to purchase Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion as it works to challenge the tech giant’s web-search dominance,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

The news comes just a month after the AI startup launched Comet, its AI-powered browser aimed at challenging Google and Microsoft. Marketed as a smarter alternative, Comet connects directly to tools like Slack and can handle complex questions in real time — but it’s currently reserved for Perplexity Max subscribers paying $200 a month.

Perplexity has made its name with an AI-powered search engine that answers questions directly and links users to original sources. Last month, it launched its own browser, Comet, built to integrate its search tech from the ground up. But Chrome is a different beast — one of the most valuable gateways to the internet, with over two billion users.

The offer comes in the shadow of a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust ruling last year that found Google had maintained an illegal monopoly in internet search. As part of its proposed remedies, the DOJ urged Google to divest Chrome, arguing it would “permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point” and give rivals a fairer shot. Google has called the DOJ’s plan “wildly overbroad” and hasn’t outlined its next steps.

Launched in 2008, Chrome is more than just a browser for Google — it’s a rich source of user data that feeds its advertising business. Losing it would cut off a key channel in its search dominance, which is exactly what the DOJ says is needed to level the field.

Perplexity isn’t shy about going after big targets. In January, it floated a proposal to merge with TikTok as political pressure mounted on the Chinese-owned app. That deal never materialized, but it underscored the startup’s appetite for moves that most companies its size wouldn’t touch.

This time, the stakes are even higher. If Google were forced to sell Chrome — and if regulators signed off on Perplexity as the buyer — it could reshape the competitive dynamics of search and browsers overnight. For now, the ball is in Google’s court, and the tech industry is watching to see whether this audacious bid is a moonshot or the start of a seismic shift in who controls the internet’s front door.

Perplexity was founded in 2022 by a team of ex-Google and OpenAI engineers. Instead of serving up a list of links, the platform responds to questions with direct, conversational answers—and cites its sources. The format is simple, fast, and clear, offering a real alternative to traditional search engines.

Perplexity Founder

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