Is Google Handing Chrome to a Startup Nobody Can Spell?

Perplexity AI, a shiny new tech startup, just slapped a $34.5 billion offer on Google’s desk for Chrome. Yes, that Chrome, the browser you’re probably using right now to read this while ignoring 27 other open tabs, three of which are silently eating your laptop’s battery life. The wild twist? Perplexity itself isn’t worth that much. But they swear they’ve got rich friends (a.k.a. investors) ready to cover the bill. Google hasn’t responded yet, probably because they’re deciding whether to take this seriously or file it next to the “Nigerian prince” emails.

Chrome isn’t just a browser; it’s the internet’s equivalent of the main entrance to Disneyland. It’s where billions of people start their online ride every day, and Google uses it to track your clicks, feed you search results, and serve you ads for that toaster you looked at once in 2019. If Perplexity somehow bought it, they could rearrange the park map, change the rides, and decide which snack stands you see first. It’s like letting a newcomer buy the keys to your favorite theme park and hoping they don’t replace Space Mountain with a giant “Buy Now” button.

This isn’t some “hey, wouldn’t it be fun to own a browser?” stunt. Perplexity runs an AI search engine that skips the list of links and jumps straight to giving you summarized answers. Owning Chrome means they wouldn’t need to beg you to leave Google Search; they could just make their AI search the default. That’s like buying the stage at a music festival instead of trying to impress the crowd from the parking lot. And the competition? Basically, every tech giant with a search bar: Google, Microsoft (Bing + ChatGPT), Meta, and anyone else trying to win the “Who Controls the Internet” game.

Whether you're running a Fortune 500 company or just Googling “how to boil eggs” for the third time this week, this shift could impact you. For businesses, it might change how customers discover your brand, how ads follow people around the web, and how much you have to pay to get clicks. For teams, it might mean faster answers, less time digging through search results, and more time for actual work (or pretending to work). For everyday people, it’s about deciding who you trust with the internet’s steering wheel, a giant like Google or a fast-talking AI startup with a credit card bigger than its bank account.

Do we want the internet’s “front door” run by Google, which has been holding the keys for over a decade, or Perplexity, the new kid who just showed up with a flashy pitch and a borrowed wallet?

Would this shake up your online life, your job, your company, or your grandma’s Facebook browsing? Or is this just another tech soap opera that’ll be forgotten by next Thursday? Let me know… before Perplexity buys Gmail and starts auto-replying for us.

- Matt Masinga