Perplexity AI’s Bold Chrome Bid Signals Major Expansion in Search Technology
A Game-Changing Move in Tech
Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI has made an unprecedented $34.5 billion bid for Google’s Chrome browser, with several investors backing the ambitious deal despite the figure exceeding the company’s current valuation.
Rapid Growth and Valuation
Founded in 2022 by Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, Perplexity AI has seen meteoric growth, reaching a valuation of US$18 billion as of July 2025. The company’s success is evident in its usage statistics, with CEO Srinivas revealing at Bloomberg’s Tech Summit 2025 that they processed 780 million queries in May 2025, handling approximately 30 million queries daily with over 20% month-over-month growth.
Strategic Expansion and Innovation
The bid for Chrome comes at a crucial time, following a U.S. Department of Justice ruling that Google held an illegal monopoly in internet search. The DOJ has proposed Google divest Chrome as part of the antitrust remedy, viewing it as essential to stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines to compete effectively.
Recent Developments and Services
In February 2025, Perplexity launched its Deep Research feature, designed to save users time by conducting comprehensive research and analysis. The system performs dozens of searches, analyzes hundreds of sources, and excels at expert-level tasks across various fields, from finance to marketing. The company has also introduced Perplexity Max, which provides access to advanced AI models like OpenAI o3-pro and Claude Opus 4, along with priority support for users.
Future Outlook
Perplexity is positioning itself at the forefront of the generative AI boom with its upcoming AI agent web browser, Comet. However, the company faces increasing competition in the AI search market, with Anthropic launching its web search product and OpenAI enhancing ChatGPT with search capabilities to better compete in the space.
