Why Perplexity Is Going After Google Chrome - And Yes, It's Serious

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Perplexity makes $34.5B bid to bargain Google's Chrome browser.
• Deal would springiness Perplexity a gateway to nan AI-driven web.
• Perplexity's bid could spark bidding war.

When nan Wall Street Journal collapsed nan news that AI institution Perplexity made an unsolicited all-cash connection of $34.5 cardinal to bargain Google's Chrome browser, immoderate group asked me, "Are they serious?" Oh, yes, it is.

Also: 5 reasons why I still for illustration Perplexity complete each different AI chatbot 

In fact, I predicted Perplexity would effort to bargain nan world's astir celebrated web browser successful May.

The grounds was there

It's not that I'm a genius. The grounds was already there. Perplexity, nan AI-driven hunt startup, has shown liking successful Chrome. Acquiring Chrome would supply Perplexity pinch a shortcut to personification acquisition and heighten information postulation for targeted advertising.

Even now, Perplexity's ain AI-enabled web browser, Comet, is built -- for illustration each web browsers isolated from Firefox -- connected Chromium, Chrome's open-source ancestor. It would springiness Perplexity a limb up connected OpenAI, which has its ain plans for an AI web browser.

Also: I utilized Perplexity to make a edifice preservation - now I'm wondering if Google is holding america back

Perplexity has besides made nary concealed of its desire to "out-Google" Google erstwhile it comes to search. As acold arsenic I'm concerned, Perplexity is simply a amended hunt motor than Google.

True, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas had said earlier that "Chrome should stay wrong and proceed to beryllium tally by Google," but if nan Department of Justice and nan courts are going to unit Google to get free of Chrome anyway, well, what's a CEO to do isolated from make nan champion imaginable deal? As Srinivas said successful nan connection letter, nan connection is "designed to fulfill an antitrust remedy successful highest nationalist liking by placing Chrome pinch a capable, independent operator."

Also: Perplexity is nan AI instrumentality Gemini wishes it could be

The national judge handling nan case, Amit Mehta, is expected to rumor a ruling connected remedies successful nan Google hunt antitrust lawsuit successful August. He's already put Google's divesting of Chrome connected nan table. He's besides taken a difficult statement connected Google, stating past twelvemonth successful his ruling that Google "is a monopolist, and it has acted arsenic 1 to support its monopoly."

Venture superior investors will backmost nan bid

According to Reuters' reporting: "Perplexity's bid pledges to support nan underlying browser codification called Chromium unfastened source, put $3 cardinal complete 2 years, and make nary changes to Chrome's default hunt engine."

This multibillion-dollar bid is astir doubly Perplexity's ain latest valuation. However, Perplexity has already stated that respective awesome task superior investors backmost its bid. While nary names person been mentioned, Perplexity has important backing from Accel, Softbank, and Bessemer, and supporters specified arsenic Nvidia and Jeff Bezos. None of these entities would balk astatine a fewer cardinal present aliases there, particularly for thing arsenic perchance valuable arsenic Chrome.

Also: Perplexity says Cloudflare's accusations of 'stealth' AI scraping are based connected embarrassing errors

Besides, if you cognize your business history, this wouldn't beryllium nan first clip a mini institution bought a overmuch bigger property. For example, Dell Technologies' acquisition of EMC and consequent reverse merger pinch VMware was a acold larger woody astatine $67 billion.

Perplexity wants attention

Some experts person suggested Perplexity wants attention. Bloomberg managing editor Mark Gurman tweeted: "Google Chrome isn't worthy $35 billion, fto unsocial $3.5 billion, without nan Google personification base. Browsers are wholly commoditized, and their halfway tech is unfastened source. Absolute caput scratcher."

Also: 5 reasons why I still for illustration Perplexity complete each different AI chatbot

Others, specified arsenic Alon Yamin, co-founder and CEO of Copyleaks, an AI-based contented verification startup, said nan woody makes cleanable sense.

In an email, Yamin told ZDNET: "Perplexity AI's $34.5 cardinal bid for Chrome is much than a bold acquisition attempt; it's a awesome that power complete nan browser is becoming 1 of nan astir valuable frontiers successful nan AI era. Whoever owns nan gateway to nan web holds immense power complete really accusation is accessed, prioritized, and trusted."

Also: I tested ChatGPT's Deep Research against Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok AI to spot which is best

Google doesn't want to waste Chrome and is appealing nan antitrust decision. The courts, however, whitethorn not springiness it immoderate prime successful nan matter. Google did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

So, what happens next? 

I fishy that if others work together pinch Yamin, we whitethorn spot a bidding warfare for Chrome. After all, ChatGPT's caput of product, Nick Turley, said successful April that if Google were forced to waste Chrome, OpenAI would beryllium interested.