We have some breaking news crossing the Bloomberg terminal. Perplexity says that they've made an unsolicited bid to Google today, offering $34.5% billion to purchase its Chrome browser. I'm going to repeat that.Perplexity has sent says it sent an unsolicited bid to Google this Tuesday. $34.5% billion for the Google Chrome browser. That's a significant and interesting piece of news.We're going to get the shares of Alphabet, the parent of Google up very soon, and we're going to talk to Bloomberg Fisherman, wh ...

Core Viewpoint - Perplexity has launched a new web browser named Comet, aiming to challenge Google Chrome's dominance in the market, which currently holds a 66.6% market share. The launch coincides with rumors of OpenAI's own browser release, indicating a competitive landscape in AI-driven search and browsing tools [1][2][3]. Group 1: Product Launch and Market Strategy - Comet integrates Perplexity's AI search tools and smart assistant to enhance user experience, initially available to premium users at $200 per month [1]. - Perplexity's ambition extends beyond user acquisition; they aim to replicate and potentially surpass Google's business model [1][2]. - The company has expressed willingness to acquire Google Chrome if legal pressures force Google to divest it, indicating a strategic move to capture a larger market share [1]. Group 2: Data Acquisition and Advertising - CEO Aravind Srinivas highlighted the importance of gathering user behavior data outside of Perplexity's applications to improve advertising quality, framing the browser as part of a broader data strategy [2]. - The decision to create a browser stemmed from a rejection by Google to include Perplexity as a default search engine, prompting the company to develop its own solution [2][3]. Group 3: Competitive Landscape and Industry Commentary - The Comet browser is built on Google's open-source Chromium project, which raises questions about the originality of Perplexity's offering [3]. - The current trend in startups involves forking open-source projects to add paid features, reflecting a broader entrepreneurial strategy in the tech industry [4]. Group 4: Vision and Long-term Goals - Perplexity aims to leverage AI to transform decision-making processes in finance, targeting a market valued at tens of trillions of dollars, significantly larger than Google's annual revenue [8][36]. - The company seeks to disrupt the financial research market dominated by Bloomberg, proposing that AI can enhance decision-making efficiency and democratize access to financial insights [36][37]. Group 5: Product Features and User Experience - Comet is envisioned as a "cognitive operating system" that integrates AI into daily workflows, allowing users to automate tasks and improve productivity [14][15]. - The browser will enable users to issue commands directly, with AI handling tasks such as data extraction and report generation, enhancing the overall user experience [15][34]. Group 6: Funding and Investor Relations - Perplexity's development costs were notably low, with the product being built for just $50,000, which impressed investors like Marc Andreessen [7][28]. - The company has faced skepticism from investors who prefer safer, vertical market strategies, but Srinivas remains committed to tackling larger, more challenging problems [6][26].