RE: LeoThread 2025-08-13 16:37
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Perplexity offers to buy Chrome for billions more than it’s raised
AI #search engine #Perplexity has offered to buy #Chrome from Google for $34.5 billion cash, with commitments to keep Chrome’s underlying engine, #Chromium, open source and continue to invest in it ($3 billion), not to change the user defaults of Chrome users, and leave Google as the search engine rather than making its own AI-powered option the default.
This bid comes after the #DoJ proposed in March that #Google be forced to sell Chrome after it was judged the tech giant acted illegally to maintain a #monopoly in online search.
Chrome is the dominant #browser, with 68% marketshare (according to Statcounter).
This offer is far more than Perplexity has raised from investors (about $1.5 billion to date) and more than the #startup’s current valuation ($18 billion).
