A letter describing the proposal states that Perplexity believes moving the product to an independent operator committed to user safety would benefit the people.
And here’s the most interesting part: though that price might be way below the actual evaluation and though Google might not be ready or willing to proceed with the deal, the company may be forced to do so, a US federal judge is said to issue a ruling that orders the company to get rid of its search business.
If you missed the news, back in August 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws by maintaining a monopoly over online search through default agreements and advertising dominance.
The ruling opened a remedies phase, in which the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed aggressive measures, including forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser, limit Android’s default search arrangements, and share search data with competitors.
Among the DOJ’s remedies is a court-enforced breakup of Google, specifically divesting Chrome and potentially altering how search is distributed on Android devices
As for Perplexity, they claim to be focused on “the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome.”
They plan to continue having Google as the default engine within Chrome if the deal goes through. The team also noted that they want to support Chromium, an open-source platform that supports both Chrome and other platforms, such as Opera.
As part of the proposed takeover, Perplexity stated that it would continue to use Google as the default search engine within Chrome, although users could adjust their settings.
The firm said it would also maintain and support Chromium, a widely used open-source platform that supports Chrome and other browsers, including Microsoft Edge and Opera.
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