谷歌反垄断案上演新剧情，AI新贵欲“蛇吞象”购Chrome

Core Viewpoint - Perplexity, an AI search startup, has made a $34.5 billion acquisition offer for Google's Chrome browser, positioning it as a public interest remedy in the ongoing U.S. antitrust case against Google [1][5]. Group 1: Acquisition Proposal - Perplexity's acquisition proposal aims to transfer Chrome to an independent operator, emphasizing public interest as the highest principle [1]. - The company claims to have secured full financial backing from several investors, including large venture capital funds, but has not disclosed their identities [2]. - If the acquisition is successful, Perplexity plans to maintain Google as the default search engine within Chrome while also managing the open-source Chromium project [2]. Group 2: Company Background and Growth - Founded in 2022 and based in San Francisco, Perplexity focuses on AI search capabilities, processing approximately 30 million queries daily, with projections to reach 1 billion weekly searches by the end of the year [2]. - The company has gained attention partly due to endorsements from NVIDIA's founder Jensen Huang, who has publicly praised Perplexity [3]. - Perplexity's valuation reached $18 billion following a $73.6 million Series B funding round in January 2024, with NVIDIA and Amazon as investors [3]. Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Other companies, including OpenAI and Yahoo, have also expressed interest in acquiring Chrome, with OpenAI's representative indicating a willingness to bid if Chrome is separated from Google [3]. - Analysts believe Perplexity's bid may undervalue Chrome, which is critical to Google's business, and view the offer as a strategy to gain publicity for its own browser, Comet [4]. Group 4: Regulatory Context - Chrome has a global market share of 67.94% and over 3.5 billion users, highlighting its significance in the internet ecosystem [6]. - The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed remedies, including the potential divestiture of Chrome, to address Google's monopolistic practices in the search market [7]. - Google has strongly opposed the divestiture, arguing it would compromise browser security and innovation [7].