Business news live: AI start-up Perplexity launches shock £25bn bid for Google Chrome

Good morning all and welcome to The Independent’s live business and money coverage.

Coming up, more companies news, UK domestic economic updates, everything regarding personal finance and stock markets movements.

Out of the blue, Google saw an offer made to it overnight for its Chrome browser.

The offer comes from AI firm Perplexity, which has its own browser if you don’t already know of the firm.

Their bid is for $34.5bn (about £25.5bn) and was reportedly an unsolicited offer, and there are several key factors at play here.

Chrome is estimated to be the world’s most popular browser, having an estimated three billion-plus users.

One key matter which has arisen within Perplexity’s bid is the fact that Google are currently facing the prospect of a forced sale of Chrome anyway.

They have not signalled intent to do so but a US federal judge will pass a ruling soon on whether they need to do so, from a long-running antitrust case.

Perplexity said in a latter to Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai, that the bid could offer a way around the issue, with it “designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator”.

Responding to BBC News, Perplexity also said the bid would be an “important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome.”

As noted earlier, the bid is $34.5bn – there are two sides to the question of this figure.

One is what Chrome is worth, which some experts believe is far, far higher than that.

The CEO of DuckDuckGo (another browser) recently testified in court that Chrome was worth $50bn in their view.

The other is what the buying company is worth – Perplexity is a private firm but it was valued at around $18bn, according to the Wall Street Journal.

They are seeking external partners to provide money to back the bid including big venture capital firms, reports the Times.

Time for a first bit of industry comment on that Perplexity bid perhaps.

Ben Barringer, global technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot, says it may just be a starting point to sound out a deal rather than an all-in take-it-or-leave-it offer.

“This bid from Perplexity is as much about making a statement as it is about securing a deal. With a U.S. judge expected to soon set out remedies in the Department of Justice’s case against Google, one possible outcome is a forced sale of Chrome,” Mr Barringer said.

“Perplexity, as an AI-driven search engine with its own browser, Comet, has been tactical in stepping forward now.

“The $34.5 billion offer is widely seen as undervaluing Chrome, so in many ways this is about starting the price discovery process. Owning Chrome would clearly be a win for Perplexity, given it competes directly with Google, but the question is whether Google would rather see it in the hands of a different buyer.

“At its core, this move speaks to three things: positioning ahead of potential remedies, sparking debate on Chrome’s true value, and increasing competitive pressure on Google.”

A quick check in on the UK stock market this morning, with investors generally positive overnight ahead of expected interest rate cuts in the US next month.

The FTSE 100 is pretty flat, however, up just 0.1 per cent this morning – France and Germany are +0.3pc and +0.6pc respectively.

Housebuilder Persimmon reported increased revenues of 12%, with scope for slight margin growth next year.

Build cost inflation and affordability are among the challenges faced at present but they say the housing market can continue to progress gradually.

Tech founder and investor Heath Ahrens isn’t buying what Perplexity are selling.

In terms of the bid being serious, that is.

The bid is a “stunt, and nowhere near Chrome’s true value, given its unmatched data and reach,” he told the BBC.

“The offer isn’t serious, but if someone like Sam Altman or Elon Musk tripled it, they could genuinely secure dominance for their AI.”

Altman is CEO of Open AI, while Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla, has his own AI model in Grok which is owned by xAI.

Here’s a quick roundup of the morning company news courtesy of PA:

• Housebuilder Persimmon said it has sold more homes this year but warned that still-high mortgage rates and rising household costs were making it less affordable for buyers. It completed the sale of 4,605 homes in the first half of 2025, 4% more than the same period last year. The average sale price of a home jumped by 8% to about £284,000.
• Holiday giant Tui has revealed a jump in profits despite a “challenging” backdrop linked to European heat waves and conflict in the Middle East. Bosses at the firm stressed that the group has been boosted by its recent growth strategy. The update came a day after the company upgraded its financial forecasts for the current year.
• Shoe Zone has halved its profit guidance in the face of weaker consumer spending, partly blaming the impact of the Labour Government’s budget tax hikes. The high street chain said it was knocked back by “challenging trading conditions” in both June and July. It told shareholders that is saw a further drop in consumer confidence “following on from the Government’s October 2024 budget announcement”.

Might as well ask the product itself, right? A quick prompt into the Perplexity browser with the following question:

“Why has perplexity bid to buy chrome browser?”

Has given a list of “key reasons”.

Antitrust opportunity, strategic move and marketing, promises to users, AI and data access and competitive edge are all cited as being reasons for the move.

Obviously, these are sourced from most of the overnight reports from Wall St Journal and the like, but a fun one to mess with its own non-existent head nonetheless.

A trade union has announced a strike at Gatwick airport from next week which it claims will put all departing flights at risk of disruption.

Unite said baggage screeners employed by ICTS will walk out in a dispute over pay from August 22-26 – which includes a bank holiday weekend – and August 29 to September 2.

The union said the workers are among the lowest paid at the West Sussex airport, earning “just above the minimum wage”.