Perplexity AI, a conservative-leaning artificial intelligence platform, has made a surprising move by offering to buy Google’s Chrome browser. This bid comes as Google faces significant antitrust charges in the United States over allegations of monopolizing online search.
The bid, reportedly an all-cash offer of $34.5 billion (€29 billion), was submitted to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Google's parent company. What makes this offer startling is that Perplexity’s own valuation is about $18 billion (€15.35 billion), making the bid nearly double its market worth.
Who Is Perplexity AI?
Perplexity AI stands out by providing conversational, easy-to-understand responses directly sourced from live internet searches. Unlike Google or Bing, which typically present ranked link lists influenced by SEO, or ChatGPT and Google Gemini, which rely on static data snapshots, Perplexity actively pulls in the latest information.
Recently, Truth Social, a social media platform owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, started beta-testing a search engine powered by Perplexity AI, branded as Truth Search AI. Although Perplexity claims it only supplies the technology and does not influence editorial choices, Truth Search AI tends to highlight conservative-leaning news sources such as Fox News, The Epoch Times, and The Federalist.
The platform positions itself as promoting “democratized knowledge,” a phrase that has found traction in some right-wing tech circles to challenge mainstream information gatekeepers.
Google’s Antitrust Challenges
In August 2024, a U.S. district judge ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in online search, violating the Sherman Act. The court found that Google’s practice of paying billions to be the default search engine on Apple's Safari and Android devices effectively blocked competitors like Bing and DuckDuckGo from gaining significant user access.
This default status created a feedback loop: more users meant more data, which improved Google’s search and advertising services, attracting even more users. The ruling moved to a remedies phase, with proposals including forcing Google to sell Chrome, end default search deals, and share search data with rivals.
Judge Amit Mehta rejected Google’s attempt to dismiss these proposals in late 2024, keeping the possibility of Chrome’s divestiture alive and setting the stage for final hearings in 2025. It was in this context that Perplexity’s unexpected offer emerged.
Perplexity’s Challenge to Google
Perplexity’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, has openly identified Google as its main competitor. He argues that Google's ad-driven business model limits its ability to integrate AI-generated answers directly into search results. Since Google relies heavily on ads alongside search listings, delivering quick AI responses—Perplexity’s core approach—could threaten its advertising revenue.
Notably, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is an investor in Perplexity, and the company uses Microsoft's Azure AI platform for infrastructure. The bid is reportedly backed by multiple unnamed investment funds, but there’s no public evidence that Bezos or Microsoft are directly financing the offer.
What This Means for the Market
- If Perplexity succeeds in acquiring Chrome, it could disrupt Google’s control over browser-based search access.
- The move reflects growing tensions in AI-enhanced search services, especially between ad-centric models and AI-first approaches.
- It also raises questions about how political leanings and content curation might influence future search experiences.
This development is a rare example of a smaller AI company making a bold move to challenge a tech giant by targeting a critical piece of its ecosystem. The outcome of the ongoing antitrust case and Perplexity’s bid will be key to watch for anyone interested in the future of search technology and AI integration.
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