Perplexity AI Offers $34.5 Billion Bid for Google Chrome, Promises to Support the Chromium Project

This is not investment advice. The author does not hold any positions in the stocks referenced within this article.

Understanding Google’s Antitrust Issues

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has been embroiled in numerous antitrust litigations in recent years. Notably, in 2022, the European General Court largely upheld the European Commission’s €4.3 billion fine against Google for abusing its dominance in the Android ecosystem by mandating device manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome.

More recently, in September 2023, the U. S.Department of Justice initiated legal proceedings against Google in Washington, DC. The accusations center on anti-competitive behaviors designed to preserve its status as the default search engine on various browsers and smartphones, facilitated by significant payments to partners like Apple. Concurrently, state attorneys general are pursuing similar antitrust claims focusing on Google’s advertising operations and exclusive agreements.

In a pivotal judgment in 2024, U. S.District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google was in violation of antitrust laws by maintaining an illegal monopoly in the search engine market. This ruling initiated a remedy trial that concluded in early May 2025. Although Judge Mehta has yet to announce a final resolution, the DOJ is advocating for Alphabet to divest from the Chrome browser along with its associated open-source project, Chromium.

The DOJ has already identified potential suitors for Chrome, which include Yahoo, OpenAI, and Perplexity AI. Nevertheless, Alphabet has remained steadfast in its argument that divesting Chrome would jeopardize user privacy and security, particularly as its proprietary technology is strongly integrated into the browser.

Judge Mehta is anticipated to issue a ruling by August 2025. Following his decision, Alphabet is expected to appeal while simultaneously seeking an injunction against its enforcement.

Additionally, Alphabet is involved in a remedy trial concerning the company’s advertising technology, where it has also been found liable for maintaining an unlawful monopoly. In a related development, a federal jury ruled in December 2023 in the Epic vs. Google case, determining that Google held a monopoly over Android app distribution and in-app billing services.

Perplexity’s Ambitious $34.5 Billion Proposal for Chrome

PERPLEXITY MAKES LONGSHOT $34.5 BILLION OFFER FOR CHROME- WSJ ESTIMATES OF CHROME’S ENTERPRISE VALUE VARY WIDELY BUT RECENT ONES HAVE RANGED FROM $20 BILLION TO $50 BILLION- WSJ GOOGLE HASN’T INDICATED A WILLINGNESS TO SELL CHROME- WSJ PERPLEXITY TOLD PICHAI THAT, AS PART OF…

— Susan Li (@SusanLiTV) August 12, 2025

The focus of today’s discussion revolves around Perplexity AI’s reported bid of $34.5 billion for Google Chrome, as highlighted by the Wall Street Journal. This offer is particularly intriguing considering that Perplexity AI itself has an estimated valuation of approximately $18 billion.

Although Chrome’s precise enterprise value is not definitively established, recent valuations have varied between $20 billion and $50 billion, positioning Perplexity’s bid almost centrally within this spectrum.

To enhance its proposal, Perplexity AI has expressed a commitment to Google to ensure the continuity of the open-source Chromium project.

However, it is essential to note that Google has not signaled any interest in accepting Perplexity AI’s offer, making the likelihood of a deal remote, at least for the time being.

Source & Images