Perplexity Stuns Tech World with $34.5B Bid for Google Chrome Amid Antitrust Firestorm

Silicon Valley just got a plot twist nobody saw coming.

Perplexity—yes, that Perplexity—just dropped a $34.5 billion nuclear offer to acquire Google Chrome while regulators circle the search giant. Talk about timing.

The antitrust vultures are circling

With Google's legal team sweating through depositions, Perplexity's move reeks of either genius opportunism or VC-funded hubris. That price tag? Either a bargain for Chrome's user base or the dumbest M&A play since WeWork.

Wall Street's already placing bets—some analysts called it 'a masterstroke,' others muttered 'dot-com bubble flashbacks' over martinis. Either way, the tech oligarchy just got interesting.

Funny how antitrust pressure makes even trillion-dollar companies look... acquirable.

Judge considers remedies as Google pushes back

Perplexity has positioned the bid as an answer to the antitrust case, telling Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google parent Alphabet, that the offer is “designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in the highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator.” By showing it is ready to take over Chrome, the company could be signaling to the judge that there is a viable buyer if a sale is ordered.

Google has shown no willingness to sell Chrome. In testimony earlier this year, Sundar told the judge that forcing the company to sell the browser or share its data with rivals WOULD harm Google’s business, discourage future investments in technology, and create possible security risks. Chrome currently serves about 3.5 billion users worldwide and controls over 60% of the global browser market.

The Department of Justice began its case against Google in 2020, focusing on exclusive agreements that keep Google as the default search engine on devices and browsers. Judge Amit is also considering whether to stop Google from making those payments or require the company to share certain data with competitors. During hearings earlier this year, he questioned whether the rise of AI chatbots might already be reducing Google’s 90% market share in search.

Perplexity’s terms and ongoing legal battles

Founded in 2022, Perplexity has said it would keep Google as the default search engine in Chrome if it wins control of the browser, but users would be able to change that setting. The company also pledged to continue supporting Chromium, the open-source project that powers Chrome and other browsers. These terms appear designed to maintain Chrome’s current structure while moving it under independent ownership.

Perplexity’s offer comes while it is facing legal challenges of its own. Two subsidiaries of News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, have filed lawsuits against the startup. Despite that, the company has secured commitments from backers to fund the full purchase price.

Google has argued for a narrower remedy in the antitrust case, proposing changes to its agreements with Apple, Mozilla, and Android partners to allow more competition, without selling any part of its business. The Big Tech company is now working on an appeal against the antitrust ruling, regardless of the outcome.

While analysts have suggested that forcing a sale of Chrome is unlikely, Judge Amit gave little indication of his leanings. During closing arguments earlier this year, he asked whether requiring Google to sell Chrome might be “a little cleaner and a little bit more elegant” than other remedies aimed at increasing competition in search.

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