An unsolicited offer estimated at $ 34.5 billion would have been transmitted by Perplexity to Google for the acquisition of the Chrome browser. The tech giant would not have followed up.
According to several American media, the start-up IA Perplexity has recently offered to buy Chrome to Google for an amount estimated at $ 34.5 billion. The information was first revealed exclusively by the Wall Street Journal (Paywall). The objective would aim to directly integrate the conversational engine of Perplexity in the most used browser in the world. This integration would allow the young shoot to increase its presence in a segment currently dominated by Google. As a reminder, since its creation in 2022, Perplexity has positioned itself as an alternative to traditional search engines, focusing on responses generated by AI, enriched with verifiable sources and quotes. Note that the firm has already started to position itself in the web browsers segment, with a solution called Comet.
Google and his parent company Alphabet did not comment on this offer publicly. According to sources cited by Axios, Reuters and The Verge, no continuation would have been given to the proposal. Chrome obviously remains a strategic asset for Google, particularly in terms of targeted advertising, user data collection and web service integration.
Note that the feasibility of such an acquisition questions many observers. Indeed, Perplexity would not, to date, have financial resources necessary to finalize an operation of this magnitude. Some analysts therefore interpret this initiative as a communication stroke intended to increase the visibility of the start-up against the giants of the sector. The proposed amount would also largely exceed the valuation of Perplexity.
As a reminder, as part of an antitrust trial whose final sanctions must still be pronounced, American justice could force Google to separate from chrome.