Perplexity offers to buy Google Chrome for $34.5B

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Seriousness and Valuation of the Offer

  • Many see the $34.5B bid as a stunt or troll, not a credible acquisition attempt, especially given Perplexity’s own size and funding.
  • Several argue any competent big-tech firm could raise that money if Google were actually willing to sell, but that Chrome’s strategic value makes the price absurdly low.
  • Some note the bid lines up with Google’s quarterly profits and other numerology (users × 10), reinforcing the PR angle.

Strategic Value of Chrome to Google

  • Chrome is framed as Google’s primary “ad ingest platform” and gateway to a huge share of web traffic.
  • Commenters stress that nobody monetizes that position as well as Google; selling it would cripple their ad and search moat.
  • Historical motivations for Chrome are debated: ensuring Google web apps work well, preventing the web’s “app-ification,” or evolving naturally from a JS engine.

AI, Data, and Browser Control

  • If Perplexity owned Chrome, they could bypass AI-crawling blocks by using the browser as a direct data firehose for training and AI summaries.
  • People note this is likely a major reason Google would never sell—but Google could still do the same for its own AI (Gemini) and AI-powered search.
  • Some see a path for Perplexity to build a strong consumer AI search product via Chrome, differentiating from enterprise-focused AI vendors.

Antitrust, Monopoly, and Possible Forced Sale

  • A subset points out the ongoing antitrust action where the DOJ has asked courts to consider forcing Google to divest Chrome.
  • Others argue that even without Chrome, users would still voluntarily go to Google search and YouTube, so the core ad business would remain.
  • Debate centers on whether removing browser control meaningfully reduces Google’s dominance in ads and search.

Perplexity’s Image and Business Fundamentals

  • Many commenters view the move as attention-seeking by a cash-burning startup reliant on third-party models and APIs.
  • Some compare the CEO’s vibe to other controversial tech figures and see this as a sign of bubble-era behavior and weak fundamentals.
  • There’s a recurring fear that Perplexity would aggressively commercialize Chrome with heavy ad integration to recoup costs.

Chrome, Security, and Browser Competition

  • Some argue Chrome’s dominance under Google has yielded secure, fast, feature-rich browsers, effectively making Google a “dictator” of the web.
  • Others strongly object, citing surveillance, tracking, CAPTCHAs, and ad-driven decisions as reasons Chrome under Google is harmful.
  • Firefox’s state triggers a long subthread: some say it’s technically solid but under-resourced; others report performance/compatibility issues, especially on macOS, and note web devs optimize for Chromium first.

Prospects if Chrome Left Google

  • Opinions split:
    • One camp thinks Perplexity would mismanage Chrome, shrinking its share and opening room for new browsers.
    • Another fears any new owner would be even more aggressive with tracking and monetization than Google.
  • Some imagine spending the same money just forking Chromium and marketing it heavily instead of buying Chrome outright.