Many see Perplexity’s bid to buy Google’s Chrome browser as a strategic statement rather than a likely transaction.

The AI startup Perplexity announced on August 12 that it intends to acquire Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion as part of its efforts to compete with the tech giant’s dominance in web search, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

Artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Perplexity has made a surprise $34.5bn (£25.6bn) takeover bid for Google's Chrome internet browser. 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.