Perplexity wants to buy Google Chrome for 34.5 billion, but the case could cost much more expensive

After proposing to buy Tiktok last March, Perplexity decided to continue to “spend without counting” on Tuesday August 12, 2025. Or, at least, to let it be ready, since many obstacles are still on the road to the start-up behind the eponymous AI to buy the Google Chrome browser.

Where does this unsolicited redemption proposal from $ 34.5 billion? Reminder of the facts.

An offer for Google Chrome that leaves perplexed

At the end of 2024, the United States Department of Justice asked a federal judge Stroll on the abuse of dominant position of Google. This antitrust affair, probably very far from being completed between decision -making, announcements and other calls from the parties concerned, could ultimately force the firm to separate from its very popular Chrome browser.

To justify its offer, Perplexity declares that it has done it “To meet the requirements of competition law, in the interest of the public, by entrusting the browser to an independent and competent operator“.

Perplexity, which recently offers its own Comet browser, is also committed in the event of a victory to keep the chrome, chromium, open source engine. It adds an investment promise of $ 3 billion in Chrome and Chromium over the next two years.

However, even if the court decision (which should not be too long) should force Google to sell Chrome, it is not impossible that the offer, however, of perplexity is not the one that prevails. First of all, note that this sum of $ 34.5 billion represents more than double the last valuation of the start-up (at 18 billion).

Then, and above all, according to the latest Google Chrome estimates would be more than $ 50 billion. There is no doubt that despite this cost many large tech companies will show their interest in accessing the PCs and smartphones of millions of users.