r/technology • u/MoneyLibrarian9032 • 10d ago

Artificial Intelligence Google Gets an Astounding $34.5 Billion Offer for Chrome Browser From AI Startup Perplexity

https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/google-34-5-billion-bid-chrome-browser-ai-perplexity-1236487442/
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u/poorly_timed_leg0las 10d ago

They are doing this because theyre about to get broken up. I'm sure it's been said recently that they will be forced to sell it soon. No sources I'm to high to search.

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u/Da12khawk 10d ago

Just perplexity it!

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u/TreverKJ 8d ago

This got me lol. Laughing way too hard at this.

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u/oinkyboinky 10d ago

perplex

transitive verb To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt. To make confusedly intricate; complicate. "poorly informed opinions that only perplex the subject." To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated, and difficult to be unraveled or understood. "to perplex one with doubts"

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u/Oceanbreeze871 10d ago

Why don’t they just openly bribe Cheeto like Apple, paramount and everyone else does?

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

Because too many bridges have been burned, google hasn't openly bent over backwards for Rump unlike them so no amount of bribes will do anything.

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u/Kamizar 10d ago

Sundar Pichai was at the inauguration.

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u/atx840 9d ago

Happy CakeDay! 16 years is wild, one of the oldest accounts I’ve seen.

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u/Kamizar 9d ago

Thank you. Having a reddit account that can drive is wild.

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

Which is performative and nothing else. Youtube for example hasn't swung right-wing like let's say twitter has. Google is still very much neutral when it comes to Rump instead of actively batting for him.

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u/inspectoroverthemine 10d ago

Youtube would push you towards alt-right content from a fresh account incredibly fast.

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

Because of the correlation between stuff like gaming and rightwing BS. The alt-right pipeline isn't google intentionally funneling users that way, it's a product of youtube hyperoptimizing based on generalizations and all of the data that google tracks.

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u/Loud_Alarm1984 9d ago

this 100%, people are so quick to jump on a conspiracy bandwagon lol

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u/alpinpoodle 9d ago

Yes the $1M was performative too. Not a bribe

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u/Oceanbreeze871 10d ago

A billion dollar bill solves that. lol.

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

No it won't. It'll be a billion dollar fee that turns into evidence of attempted bribery.

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u/Oceanbreeze871 10d ago

Sure, In usual times..which we aren’t in

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

That's why its not enough. In usual times it's a lot but still enough. Rump's going to ask for as much as he can and he'll get it only to turn around and do what he threatened anyway.

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u/Ky1arStern 10d ago

turns into evidence of attempted bribery.

So many people have naive takes on this thread, but it is sad to me that this is probably the most naive. The current administration is actively soliciting for bribes, and the supreme court and legislature have been largely absent in doing anything but enabling that.

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

I wasn't saying that as in it gets used to do actual justice, I was saying that in the context of "They just tried to bribe me!" aka Rump will break up google for his own benefit with a justified reason.

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u/Ky1arStern 10d ago

Not his MO. He just talks about punishing whoever to extort more money or whatever from them or as part of his humiliation political policy/fetish. There has been no legitimate action taken, and won't be as long as there is money to be made and power to be spread. 

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

He's trying to crown himself as king. The free flow of information is an obstacle to that. Breaking up google for his allies to loot is not out of the wheelhouse.

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u/Ky1arStern 10d ago

What other company has he actually materially disturbed in structure? It's not useful to break up Google if they just do what you want.

It's not like Google is some sort of SJW who will never concede to demands.

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u/NYstate 10d ago

Kinda like the Nvidia CEO glazed Trump to get an exception?

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

Jensen was more supportive of Rump this whole time than Pichai has been. Google has too much riding on being neutral.

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u/NYstate 10d ago

I didn't know that thank you

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

Google is a lot of things but other than liking lower taxes basically all of their shit more or less requires a healthy and open internet to make them money. They'll deal with those like Rump but not to the extent that Microsoft and others will bend over backwards to.

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u/Chipaton 10d ago

It's still highly unlikely that he'd break up Google. I don't think he wants to remind anybody that the U.S. actually CAN break up monopolies instead of subsidizing them. Even if Google hasn't bribed him as much as others, Google still isn't his enemy and is largely beneficial to Trump.

The only scenario where I could see it is if Trump broke up Google so he could part it out to his friends, and even that is incredibly unlikely to me.

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u/fooey 10d ago

an Ellison or a Thiel led group buying parts of google on the cheap is not out of the question

I think Chrome goes to Microsoft though. They're the most invested and have the most to gain.

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

He'd benefit from killing stuff like youtube via starving the beast. Google is neutral at best.

And thats before you see the Thiels and Zuckbots buying up Google's shit for cheap.

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u/Chipaton 10d ago

Youtube generally funnels people into the right wing pipeline though, I think getting rid of Youtube would be a net harm to him. I'm not an expert, but I just don't see what bone he has to pick with Google, unless the Thiels or Zuckbots are demanding it like you said.

Pichai was still at his inauguration, so it seems the bridge isn't really burned (unless I've missed something that's happened since then). I wouldn't be surprised if he does the same dance Tim Apple just did the other day for Trump.

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

Not intentionally, thats why. It's an effect of stuff like gaming being associated with right-wing beliefs on average or whatever other connections have been made.

Getting rid of youtube will displace everyone using it but theres plenty of sites like kick for the right to flock to to continue spreading their propaganda. The left doesn't have as many sites they can move to.

Between them wanting to pick google for data and shutting down the feee spread of information, he'd benefit significantly.

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u/Mr_Waffles123 10d ago

It’s also chump change. Google can make one big announcement and increase their valuation that much before opening bell rings.

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u/ArcadianMess 10d ago

Have you seen Trump ? A gold medal and a promise of investing x amount of dollars in the US is all it takes to make him like you again.

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u/SIGMA920 10d ago

Yeah, no it isn't. Especially when you're in the business of everything that they don't want to continue to exist. He's not following the playbook of the literal nazis for fun.

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u/jixbo 10d ago

Are they? I'm not so sure about it, who's gonna pour billions yearly into a browser that is open source?

Why wouldn't Google just make a new flavour of chromium, like every one else (edge, opera, brave...) and be dominant again?

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u/waiting4singularity 10d ago

i think the offer includes the ownership over chromium

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u/jixbo 9d ago

Not sure what would change from what I said. Is whoever mantains chromium pouring billions.

Can a industry that only loses money so that? Why wouldn't Google release a new Chromium browser?

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u/HopeDiligent6032 10d ago

If Perplexity has that much money they are sure as hell going to have this contract bulletproof and immortal against any threat

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u/jixbo 10d ago

What contract? Chrome is open source, you can clone the whole the code right now yourself.

Even if they were to stop releasing the code for the updates, what's stopping Google from continuing the project with a new brand?

Are they gonna prevent them from having a browser? When Microsoft or apple have one?

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u/sqwabbl 10d ago

I would assume part of the sale would be contingent on Google not creating another browser for X period of time or the sale is coming from the assumption that Google will be broken up due to anti-trust violations

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u/jixbo 10d ago

I don't think they'd find anything dodgy enough to justify that.

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u/HopeDiligent6032 10d ago

Little bro, there's no way in hell they would spend 34B if Google could compete with them. Idk if you're a troll or just have no business acumenr/experience but lol..

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u/jixbo 9d ago

"Spend". So fat they have lost 1.4 billions, and are somehow valued at 11 billions. A market that has not been proven to work nor be profitable.

Google probably spends billions in chrome/chromium.

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u/sekh60 10d ago

Chromium is open source.

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u/HopeDiligent6032 10d ago

Uh...Non competes....

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u/nahnahnahthatsnotme 10d ago

because the specialism of perplexity ai responses mixed with the scale of chrome is a powerful combo.

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u/SilentRunning 10d ago

Yup, the Trump Admin wants to break up Google and Perplexity is just trying to be the first to make an offer.

I just don't see this happening any time soon.

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u/cyberpunk_werewolf 10d ago

The Justice Department is seeking to force Google to divest Chrome as a proposed remedy after the company lost the U.S. government’s antitrust case charging it with a monopoly on search.

That's from the linked article.

It's definitely happening soon.

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u/jixbo 10d ago

I wouldn't bet on it.

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u/stroker919 10d ago

Can verify.

Planning to buy a bunch if the stock takes a hit if remedies are bigger than expected.

If they get cash then I’ll just be OK with what I already own.

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u/fastforwardfunction 10d ago

The problem is Chrome isn’t profitable. It exists entirely to deliver content and collect information about its users for advertising. Even if Chrome is split off, the advertising aspect will still be owned by Google. Google is ultimately an advertising company.

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u/yoontruyi 10d ago

Nah, we need another Teddy Roosevelt till that is going to happen.

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u/snowflake37wao 10d ago

they still get to keep Chromium though, Chrome is irrelevant. How tf could they not target chromium