Perplexity is reportedly looking to buy out its competition.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Perplexity is an AI-powered answer engine co-founded by former Google intern Aravind Srinivas alongside Johnny Ho, Denis Yarats, and Andy Konwinski in 2022. Perplexity summarizes findings from web pages and offers footnotes, while Google provides users with links to access information. Google also now offers “AI Overviews” to summarize information about a question and topic, and more recently launched “AI Mode,” which more closely aligns with Perplexity. Perplexity has since countered with its own search engine called Comet.
Quest To Purchase Google Chrome
In an interview with Fortune, Srinivas said he aspires to create “something bigger than Google.” Now, it appears Srinivas is on a quest to purchase Google Chrome’s browser, placing a $34.5 billion bid, Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer confirmed to CNN. The company’s bid is influenced by its belief in the open web, Dwyer said. So, Perplexity will invest $3 billion into Chromium, an open-source browser project used by Google Chrome and GoogleOS, which is responsible for improving the user web experience, its website mentions. It also vows to honor users’ browsing preferences if this bid were approved and provide “continued availability and support” for Chrome for 100 months.
Perplexity’s bid follows a Justice Department ruling that suggested Google sell the Chrome browser as a solution to violating U.S. antitrust law. The New York Times reports it is being accused of holding a monopoly over internet search. Google says it is an “unprecedented proposal” that would be unfavorable to users and security. At this time, Google has not commented on Perplexity’s bid.
“This is a smart and opportunistic move by Perplexity given the case against Google and regulatory scrutiny,” Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives told CNN. “This is all a game of high stakes poker and Perplexity made a good move.”
Valuations
Ives estimates Google Chrome is worth $50 billion or more, while Fortune estimates Perplexity is worth $18 billion. Google’s value is nearly $2.5 trillion.
