Bezos-backed Perplexity AI makes surprise bid for Google Chrome

Bezos-backed Perplexity AI makes surprise bid for Google Chrome 2 hours ago Share Save Osmond Chia & Imran Rahman-Jones Business & technology reporters Share Save Getty Images Artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity AI has made a surprise $34.5bn (£25.6bn) takeover bid for the world's most popular web browser, Google Chrome. The three-year-old firm, whose backers include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and chip maker Nvidia, is headed by a former Google and OpenAI employee. But one technology industry investor called the offer a "stunt" that is a much lower than Chrome's true value and highlighted it is not clear whether the platform is even for sale. The BBC has contacted Google for comment. A US federal judge is expected to issue a ruling this month that could see Google being ordered to break up its search business. The company has said it would appeal such a ruling, saying the idea of spinning off Chrome was an "unprecedented proposal" that would harm consumers and security. Chrome has an estimated three billion users. Google's dominance of the search engine and online advertising market has come under intense scrutiny, with the tech giant the subject of two antitrust cases in the US. A spokesman for Perplexity told the BBC that its bid marks an "important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome." Moving Chrome to an independent operator committed to user safety would benefit the public, Perplexity said in a letter to Sundar Pichai, the boss of Google's owner Alphabet. Perplexity did not respond to queries about how the proposed deal would be funded. In July, it had an estimated value of $18bn. "I love their boldness but this is an unsolicited bid and is not actually funded yet," Judith MacKenzie, head of Downing Fund Managers, told the BBC's Today programme. Technology industry investor Heath Ahrens called Perplexity's move a "stunt, and nowhere near Chrome's true value, given its unmatched data and reach." "The offer isn't serious, but if someone like Sam Altman or Elon Musk tripled it, they could genuinely secure dominance for their AI," he added. Meanwhile, Tomasz Tunguz from Theory Ventures put the value of Chrome at "maybe ten times more valuable than the bid or more." What is Perplexity?