Perplexity AI makes unsolicited 34.5bn bid to buy Google Chrome

Perplexity AI said it has made a 34.5bn unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's Google Chrome browser. The deal, if Alphabet agreed to it, would also require financing above the startup's most recently reported valuation of 18bn. The nearly three-year-old startup's purchase of Chrome, if approved, would give the company access to its more than three billion users as regulatory pressure weighs on Google's control over the tech industry. Perplexity did not disclose on Tuesday how it plans to fund the offer, but has raised 1bn in funding from investors including SoftBank and the semiconductor chip giant Nvidia. Several funds have said they would finance the deal in full if Alphabet accepts, the Reuters news agency reported citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.