Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid for Google’s Chrome browser, CNBC confirmed on Tuesday.
That figure is higher than Perplexity’s current valuation, but the company said several investors have agreed to back the deal. In July, Perplexity was valued at $18 billion as part of an extension that valued the company at $14 billion months earlier.
Google did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the bid.
Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine that gives users simple answers to questions and links out to the original source material on the web. Last month, it launched its own AI-powered browser called Comet.
The startup was also approached by Meta earlier this year about a potential acquisition, but the companies did not finalize a deal.
Perpexity’s bid comes after the U.S. Department of Justice proposed Google divest Chrome as part of the antitrust suit the company lost last year. The judge in the case ruled that Google has held an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search.
Chrome, which Google launched in 2008, provides the search giant with data it then uses for targeting ads. The DOJ said in a filing following the court’s decision that forcing the company to get rid of Chrome would create a more equal playing field for search competitors.
“To remedy these harms, the [Initial Proposed Final Judgment] requires Google to divest Chrome, which will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet,” the DOJ wrote.
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WATCH: Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion bid for Google’s Chrome browser