Artificial intelligence start-up Perplexity AI has made a surprise $34.5bn (£25.6bn) takeover bid for the world’s most popular web browser, Google Chrome.
The three-year-old firm, whose backers include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and chip maker Nvidia, is headed by a former Google and OpenAI employee.
But one technology industry investor called the offer a “stunt” that is a much lower than Chrome’s true value and highlighted it is not clear whether the platform is even for sale.
The BBC has contacted Google for comment.
A US federal judge is expected to issue a ruling this month that could see Google being ordered to break up its search business.
The company has said it would appeal such a ruling, saying the idea of spinning off Chrome was an “unprecedented proposal” that would harm consumers and security.
Chrome has an estimated three billion users.
Google’s dominance of the search engine and online advertising market has come under intense scrutiny, with the tech giant the subject of two antitrust cases in the US.
A spokesman for Perplexity told the BBC that its bid marks an “important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome.”
Moving Chrome to an independent operator committed to user safety would benefit the public, Perplexity said in a letter to Sundar Pichai, the boss of Google’s owner Alphabet.
Perplexity did not respond to queries about how the proposed deal would be funded. In July, it had an estimated value of $18bn.
“I love their boldness but this is an unsolicited bid and is not actually funded yet,” Judith MacKenzie, head of Downing Fund Managers, told the BBC’s Today programme.
Technology industry investor Heath Ahrens called Perplexity’s move a “stunt, and nowhere near Chrome’s true value, given its unmatched data and reach.”
“The offer isn’t serious, but if someone like Sam Altman or Elon Musk tripled it, they could genuinely secure dominance for their AI,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tomasz Tunguz from Theory Ventures put the value of Chrome at “maybe ten times more valuable than the bid or more.”
Perplexity is among the rising players in the generative AI race, alongside more well-known platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Last month, it launched an AI-powered browser called Comet.
But it has been the subject of controversy, especially form media organisations which have accused it of breaking copyright rules.
In June, the BBC sent a legal letter to Perplexity chief executive Aravind Srinivas accusing his company of reproducing BBC content “verbatim” without its permission.
In response, Perplexity said: “The BBC’s claims are just one more part of the overwhelming evidence that the BBC will do anything to preserve Google’s illegal monopoly.”
It did not explain what it believed the relevance of Google was to the BBC’s position, or offer any further comment.
The company made headlines earlier this year after offering to buy the American version of TikTok, which faces a deadline in September to be sold by its Chinese owner or be banned in the US.
As part of the proposed takeover, Perplexity said it would continue to have Google as the default search engine within Chrome, though users could adjust their settings.
The firm said it would also maintain and support Chromium, a widely-used open-source platform that supports Chrome and other browsers including Microsoft Edge and Opera.