The startup additionally provided to purchase TikTok earlier this yr. Google hasn’t indicated that it might promote Chrome at any value, and to date, the court docket hasn’t ordered a sale.
Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer confirmed to The Verge that the WSJ’s reporting is correct. The startup’s bid for Chrome stands in stark distinction to the startup’s valuation of about $18 billion.
Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief enterprise officer, informed Bloomberg that “a number of giant funding funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full.” A spokesperson for the startup additionally informed Bloomberg that Perplexity would make investments greater than $3 billion in Chrome and Chromium over the subsequent two years if Google accepts the deal.