Indian-Origin Techie Makes $34.5 Billion Bid for Google Chrome: PR Stunt or Disruptive Strategy?

• The Proposal:
Three-year-old AI startup Perplexity AI, helmed by Indian-origin CEO Aravind Srinivas, dropped a jaw-dropping $34.5 billion all-cash offer to buy Google Chrome — nearly twice Perplexity’s own estimated worth of ~$18 billion.

• The Ask:
Framed as a solution to looming antitrust remedies, the bid pledges to preserve the open-source Chromium, retain Google as the default search engine, maintain most of Chrome’s workforce, and inject $3 billion over two years to enhance performance and support.

Aravind Srinivas is a Chennai-born IIT Madras graduate, later pursuing advanced education and AI tenure—including stints at Google and alongside luminary Yoshua Bengio—before founding Perplexity in 2022.

Perplexity, though only three years old, commands support from heavyweight backers like SoftBank, Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, among others.

Antitrust Pressure:
A US District Judge, Amit Mehta, ruled Google illegally monopolized search, and the Justice Department is pushing for structural remedies—potentially including a Chrome divestiture.

Strategic Signal:
Perplexity might be aiming to influence that legal process, demonstrating market readiness and readiness to step in—if only to show there’s appetite for alternative leadership.

Serious Play, Smart Buzz:
Was this a bid—or a billboard?
Perplexity has a history of headline-grabbing bids, such as its earlier attempt to acquire TikTok—moves that generate massive visibility regardless of fruition.

But beyond marketing, the offer is a bold positioning in the escalating AI-search arms race—an all-in statement that they’re more than just a challenger—they’re casting a proper shadow.