Bold offer aims to tap Chrome’s 3 billion users as AI rivalry with OpenAI and others intensifies.
Perplexity AI, the fast-growing AI startup led by Indian-origin CEO Aravind Srinivas, has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion (over ₹3,02,000 crore) all-cash bid to acquire Google Chrome, according to Reuters. The move underscores the company’s ambition to challenge tech giants in the global AI race, reported hindustantimes.com.
The bid comes as Google faces regulatory pressure in the US, with the Justice Department pushing remedies after a court ruled it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. One proposed measure includes forcing Google to divest Chrome. Google, however, has vowed to appeal and has shown no intention of selling its flagship browser.
Perplexity’s proposal includes:
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Keeping Chromium code open-source
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Investing $3 billion over two years in Chrome
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Retaining default search engine settings
Perplexity’s offer seeks to preserve Chrome’s open-source code, invest billions, and reduce competition concerns.
Founded in 2022 by Srinivas along with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, Perplexity has grown rapidly with its AI-driven search engine that provides real-time, cited answers. The company recently launched Comet, its own AI-powered browser, and believes acquiring Chrome would give it direct access to over 3 billion users worldwide.
Srinivas, an IIT Madras graduate from Chennai, previously worked at Google and trained under AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio before founding Perplexity in San Francisco. Under his leadership, the startup — last valued at $14 billion after raising $1 billion from investors like Nvidia and SoftBank — struck a major partnership with Bharti Airtel in May 2025, giving 360 million Indians free access to Perplexity Pro.
Despite the ambitious bid, analysts remain sceptical that Google will part with Chrome, which is integral to its AI-driven future, including new features like AI-generated “Overviews” in search.
