Perplexity offers to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion

Investing.com -- Perplexity, an artificial-intelligence startup, reportedly made an offer on Tuesday to purchase Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion as part of its strategy to challenge Google’s dominance in web search.

The company informed The Wall Street Journal that several investors, including large venture-capital funds, had committed to fully backing the transaction. Bloomberg also reported on Perplexity’s offer.

Chrome’s enterprise value has been estimated to range between $20 billion and $50 billion, according to recent valuations, noted the Journal’s report.

This offer comes as U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta considers whether to force Google to sell the browser as a remedy for weakening Google’s control over web search. Perplexity’s bid may be intended to demonstrate to the judge that there is a potential buyer if a forced sale is ordered.

In a letter to Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Perplexity stated that its offer is "designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator."

Google has not shown interest in selling Chrome.

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