Perplexity Makes Longshot $34.5B Offer for Chrome

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Seriousness of the Offer

  • Many commenters see the $34.5B bid as clearly not serious: Perplexity is far smaller than Chrome’s implied value and would have to pay with stock, effectively giving Google control of the combined company.
  • The move is widely described as a PR/attention stunt, especially given Perplexity’s prior “offer” for TikTok and the fact they already have a Chromium-based browser.
  • Some expect Perplexity to use the buzz to raise money, and interpret the stunt as a sign their organic growth may be flattening.

Who Should Control Chrome?

  • Strong distrust of both ad-tech and AI companies as browser stewards; several argue an AI company would be even worse for privacy than Google.
  • Some propose only nonprofits or fee-based models should be allowed to own a browser like Chrome, but others doubt one-time fees or paid upgrades can sustainably fund critical, fast-moving browser development.

Value of Chrome & Business Model Concerns

  • The valuation is seen as roughly “$10 per user” for ~3.45B Chrome users, with the real asset being default access to the main interface half the planet uses to reach the web.
  • Control of Chrome means de facto control over web standards, extensions, ad-blocking limits, codecs, telemetry, and future AI-driven “presentational” modifications to the web.
  • Several worry that if a buyer paid tens of billions, they’d have to aggressively monetize users and data to justify the price.

Regulatory / Antitrust Dimension

  • Some see the bid as “remedies chess”: giving regulators a concrete divestiture scenario after Google’s search monopoly findings, and floating a dollar figure for Chrome’s worth.
  • Others argue forcing a sale of Chrome wouldn’t fix the core problem of Google’s ad-market dominance; Google could just ship a new browser based on Chromium/WebKit unless contractually barred.

Browser Ecosystem & Standards

  • Debate over whether slowing browser release cycles (e.g., paid upgrades, multi-year major versions) would:
    • Help competing engines catch up and diversify the ecosystem, or
    • Stall web standards and lock in old versions, harming progress.

Perplexity’s Reputation and Product

  • Mixed user feedback: some say Perplexity feels shallow, over-optimized for speed and “wow” vs. real research; others call it their main search tool, with low hallucinations and strong source citation.
  • Several say they reduced Google usage only after adopting Perplexity; others find ChatGPT/Claude with web search as good or better.
  • Negative perceptions are reinforced by:
    • Accusations of ignoring robots.txt and using stealth crawlers.
    • “Gimmicky” marketing, political entanglements, and friction like mandatory email magic links.