Do you remember Perplexity? Yes, the same company which is in discussion everywhere these days! These people are earning a lot of name because of AI search engine, but I tested their system – straight forward, it is not at the level of ChatGPT. There are a lot of bugs, there are glitches in the search results, and it does not give that special vibe. But, this company is only 3 years old, and your senses will be blown away by the sun’s valuation – 18 billion dollars!
Yes, not million, BILLION dollars are being talked about! Where did this money come from? Big players like Nvidia and Japan’s SoftBank put funding in them, and only because of this they became so big. Now see the real game – what did they do? They placed a bid to buy Google’s Chrome browser, whose valuation is 34.5 billion dollars! Yes, you heard it right, Perplexity is saying to Chrome, which is the most popular browser in the world, “Hey Google, give it to me!”
Now just think, the value of their company is 18 billion dollars, and Chrome alone is worth 34.5 billion – that means more than double! Where do these people get this courage from? Chrome is a small part of Google, and Google itself is a trillion-dollar company. Where does so much overconfidence come from, even the mind cannot handle it!
Let’s talk in some detail
Perplexity’s AI search engine idea is good, but it is still in the developing stage. Their system pulls data from the web, gives real-time answers, but makes mistakes many times. Like once I asked “what are the latest AI trends?”, it gave the stats for 2023 – hey, keep it updated a little! Still, their growth has been amazing. Reaching a valuation of 18 billion dollars in 3 years is no joke. But bidding for Chrome? This is too much!
Talking about Chrome
Chrome is the father of the browser market. More than 60% of the world uses it – speed, simplicity, and Google’s ecosystem make it unbeatable. Now Perplexity is thinking whether it will buy it? Google has so much money that it can buy the whole company of Perplexity in one go! I have an idea – we should put a counter bid to Google and say, “Why are you so obsessed with Chrome? I would have bought your whole company!”
If this deal really happens, there will be a lot of uproar in the tech world. But I think Google will not hand over Chrome to such a startup. Perplexity may have ambitions, but Google has power, money, and market control. So this bid seems to be just a stunt – maybe for publicity or to impress investors. What do you think? Can Perplexity really buy Chrome, or is it just a big dream? Tell us in the comments!
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Perplexity grew very fast – 18 billion dollars valuation in 3 years.
- Support from big investors like Nvidia and SoftBank.
- The concept of AI search engine is new and interesting.
- Took everyone’s attention away from the bid for Chrome – bold move!
Cons:
- AI engine still has bugs and inaccuracies.
- Chrome’s valuation is double that of their company – showed overconfidence of the bid.
- A giant like Google will not take them seriously.
- Limited track record – only 3 years old company.
Conclusion
Perplexity made the bid for Chrome very crazy, but this deal does not seem to be very practical. How will a company worth 18 billion dollars buy a browser worth 34.5 billion dollars? This seems like just a dream. Still, it was fun to see Perplexity’s ambition – it does give so much confidence! But Google is Google, it is not that easy to shake it. What do you think – will this plan of Perplexity work, or is it just a publicity stunt? Leave your opinion in the comments!