Perplexity has just bid to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion, an offer that is much higher than the AI search startup’s own value, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg report.
The startup also offered to buy TikTok earlier this year. Google hasn’t indicated that it would sell Chrome at any price, and so far, the court hasn’t ordered a sale.
Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer confirmed to The Verge that the WSJ’s reporting is accurate. The startup’s bid for Chrome stands in stark contrast to the startup’s valuation of about $18 billion.
The startup made the unsolicited offer on Tuesday, just months after Perplexity said it would acquire Chrome if the government forced Google to sell its browser.
Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer, said Bloomberg that “multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full.” A spokesperson for the startup also told Bloomberg that Perplexity would invest more than $3 billion in Chrome and Chromium over the next two years if Google accepts the deal.
