Adobe Stock, Le HuffPost
An artificial intelligence start-up (AI) offered Google to buy its Chrome browser, whose future is still uncertain.
Artificial Intelligence – The future of the Internet is at stake, and for some the time has come to place pawns. This Tuesday, August 12, the Artificial Intelligence Start-up (AI) Perplexity AI offered Google to buy Chrome for $ 34.5 billion. The future of the iconic navigator is indeed threatened by the conviction for abuse of the dominant position of the Internet giant.
Perplexity AI confirmed to AFP that he sent a letter of intent to Google. The information was first revealed by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). In its letter, the start-up undertakes to invest substantially in the browser, to make offers to key employees of chrome, and especially to never change “Superreptitiously” The default search engine, that is to say Google.
Specializing in online research, Perplexity recently launched its own browser, Comet. The start-up combines an AI assistant and a search engine to find information on the web, such as Google, and to provide answers to user questions, such as Chatgpt.
Google monopoly endangers Chrome
Google was found guilty in the summer of 2024 of illegal practices to establish and maintain its monopoly in online research. Her sentence has not yet been pronounced, but she is expected this month. The US Ministry of Justice notably asked the judge to order Google to sell his Chrome browser, a measure that could transform the Internet.
In his letter, Perplexity affirms that his buyout has been designed “To meet the requirements of competition law, in the interest of the public, by entrusting the browser to an independent and competent operator. “” We think we are the best goalkeepers for Chrome “said Jesse Dwyer, communications manager for the start-up. “We also want to make our commitments known, because anyone who will resume Chrome will also have to guarantee the continuity of the browser and the choice for users. The open web is at stake ”.
According to Wall Street JournalPerplexity is worth around $ 18 billion, just over half of the offer made to the Californian group. But a company spokesperson has assured AFP that several major investment funds want to participate in the financing of this acquisition, and that management was not worried about its ability to bring together the sum advanced.
During the court hearings, Google had for its part judged the penalties requested by the accusation as “Extreme”ensuring that consumers would suffer without the competition being reinforced. The group also stressed that its research activity is now in direct competition with many AI assistants, from Chatgpt to Perplexity.