Run by Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers, it made a similar one for TikTok United States (US) in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve US concerns about TikTok’s Chinese ownership.
OpenAI, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome as regulatory pressure threatens Google’s grip on the industry.
Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The company has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal a US court ruling last year that found it held an unlawful monopoly in online search. The Justice Department has sought a Chrome divestiture as part of the case’s remedies.
Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer. The three-year-old company has raised around $1 billion in funding so far from investors, including Nvidia and Japan’s SoftBank. It was last valued at $14 billion. Multiple funds have offered to finance the deal in full, Perplexity said, without naming the funds. Alphabet’s shares were up 1.6% in afternoon trading.
–Reuters–
