&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Google Chrome for sale? Perplexity AI makes bold $34.5B offer to buy it amid antitrust row")
In a bold move, Perplexity AI offered Google $34.5 billion on Tuesday to acquire its widely used Chrome web browser. The tech giant could be compelled to sell this asset as part of ongoing antitrust proceedings. The offered sum, outlined in a letter of intent, is nearly double the value of Perplexity's own estimate of $18 billion from its most recent funding round.
"This proposal is designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in the highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator focused on continuity, openness, and consumer protection," Perplexity chief executive Aravind Srinivas said, AFP reported.
Google is currently awaiting US District Court Judge Amit Mehta's ruling on potential "remedies" after last year's landmark judgment that found the tech giant company maintaining an illegal monopoly in online search.
What's Google's official response?
US government attorneys have pushed for Google to divest the Chrome browser, warning that the rise of artificial intelligence could further strengthen its dominance as the internet's dominant gateway.
Meanwhile, Google has requested that the court reject the divestment, with a decision from Mehta expected by the end of the month. But Google has not issued an official response to the bid from Perplexity AI. However, analysts at Baird Equity Research dismissed the proposal, stating that it severely undervalues Chrome and "should not be taken seriously."
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One of the Baird analysts theorised that the AI startup could be trying to spark others to bid or "influence the pending decision" in the antitrust case, as it already has a browser that competes with Chrome.
"Either way, we believe Perplexity would view an independent Chrome -- or one no longer affiliated with Google -- as an advantage as it attempts to take browser share," Baird analysts told investors.
