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 antitrust case against Google [1][3]. Group 1: Acquisition Proposal - Perplexity's acquisition proposal aims to manage Chrome independently, emphasizing public interest as a guiding principle [1]. - The company claims to have backing from several large venture capital firms to support the acquisition, although it has not disclosed the identities of these investors [3]. - Perplexity intends to maintain Google as the default search engine within Chrome if the acquisition is successful [3]. Group 2: Company Background and Growth - Founded in 2022 and headquartered in San Francisco, Perplexity focuses on AI search capabilities, processing approximately 30 million queries daily, with projections to reach 1 billion searches per week by the end of the year [3][4]. - The company has gained attention partly due to endorsements from NVIDIA's founder Jensen Huang, who has publicly praised Perplexity [4]. Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Other potential buyers for Chrome include OpenAI and Yahoo, both of which have expressed interest in acquiring the browser during the antitrust proceedings [4]. - Analysts believe Perplexity's chances of successfully acquiring Chrome are low due to the browser's significant value to Google and the competition from other strong contenders [5]. Group 4: Market Context and Antitrust Issues - Chrome has a global market share of 67.94% and over 3.5 billion users, highlighting its importance in the internet ecosystem [8]. - 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 [9]. - Google has strongly opposed the divestiture, arguing it would compromise browser security and innovation [10].
豪掷2475亿元,AI新贵欲“蛇吞象”购谷歌Chrome