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Artificial intelligence search company Perplexity has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion offer to buy Google's Chrome browser.
Perplexity spokesman Jesse Dwyer confirmed with CNN for details on the offer first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The bid comes as Google awaits a court decision after last year's groundbreaking ruling revealed that the internet giant violates US antitrust laws in its search business. The US Department of Justice has proposed that Google sell Chrome browsers as a remedy.
Google has pledged to appeal the ruling, calling the idea of emitting Chrome an “unprecedented proposal” and saying it would harm consumers and security. Google declined to provide CNN with comments regarding Perplexity's bid.
The Perplexity offer is probably a long shot given Google's resistance to forced sales of Chrome, but it provides the latest example of how new companies are doing, taking on the biggest players of Tech to rebuild the internet in the AI era.
Perplexity is a nearly three-year startup where search tools use AI models to analyze web content and curate answers. Responses are usually posted as summary, but confusion provides a link to its source. In December 2022, we launched an AI search engine that competes with Google's dominant products.
Perplexity launched its own AI-powered web browser called Comet in July. The company pitches it as a more personalized browser than connecting dots like user calendars, browsing tabs, and social channels. According to Reuters, Openai is said to be developing a web browser. AI companies are another signal that people play a bigger role in how they use the web.
Perplexity said that when purchasing Chrome, it will maintain users' current browsing preferences, including Google as its default search engine, Dwyer told CNN.
Also, Dwyer promises to invest $3 billion in Chromium for 100 months in Chrome's “continuous availability and support” over the next 24 months. Chromium is the underlying technology of Google's open source that other tech companies, including Microsoft and Prperxity, can use to build their own browsers.
Confusion has made the offer, because Dwyer “believes in the open web.”
In a report last month, Bloomberg said it was valued at $18 billion, following a recent $100 million funding round. The company did not comment on the report.
This will make Perplexity's offer for Chrome almost double its own rating. Meanwhile, Google is worth nearly $2.5 trillion. Shares of the company (GOOGL) rose about 1% on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that several investors agreed to support purchases, including large venture capital companies.
“This is a wise and opportunistic move due to embarrassment given the lawsuit against Google and regulatory scrutiny,” Wedbush Tech analyst Dan Ives told CNN, adding that he estimates Chrome is worth at least $50 billion. “This is all a high stakes poker game and confusion has made a good move.”
Google Chrome is not the only famous acquisition target that confusion has pursued. The company said it was bidding to buy Tiktok earlier this year after a law passed that required the social media app parent company Baitedan to sell to non-China-based companies or face a ban in the US.
Reports from Bloomberg and Information say both Meta and Apple are discussing buying AI search companies.
This story has been updated with additional development and context.
