Search.com has entered the race to acquire Google Chrome, topping Perplexity AI’s $34.5 billion bid with a $35 billion counteroffer backed by JPMorgan Chase and a consortium of private equity firms.
The $500 million move intensifies a high-stakes battle over the future of web browsing and AI search, as more challengers position themselves to take control of the world’s most-used browser.
“We see this as both offense and defense,” Melissa Anderson, president of Public Good, which owns Search.com, told Decrypt. “Acquiring Chrome gives us the scale to accelerate adoption of our AI search platform—and a direct connection to users.”
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Google in 2020, alleging it illegally dominates search and advertising. In April, a federal court ruled Google had monopolized the digital ad market. Chrome accounts for about 65% of global browser use, but a March 2025 Wharton report estimated Google’s control of search traffic at nearly 90%.
On Tuesday, Perplexity AI submitted its $34.5 billion proposal, positioning the deal as a way to preserve an open-source web and counter Big Tech’s grip on browser infrastructure. Unnamed institutional investors back that offer.
Both Search.com and Perplexity are framing their bids as remedies to that dominance. For Search.com, however, the acquisition is about more than infrastructure—it’s about access.
“Google and Bing control the lion’s share of search,” Danny Bibi, CEO of Public Good’s parent company Ad.com, added. “For us to catapult growth and provide true incremental traffic, Chrome is the access point. That’s the gateway.”
Search.com is a division of Public Good, itself owned by ad.com, a digital ad network founded in 1993. The company estimates it brings in $300 million to $400 million annually through advertising, and believes owning Chrome could push that into the billions.
Search.com’s bid matches the structure of Perplexity’s offer—including Chrome’s codebase, trademarks, infrastructure, and user data—but adds user-focused perks: ad-free browsing, cashback for searches, and a 60% revenue-share model for publishers.
“It’s part of our commitment to ethical AI—we’re not scraping content without compensation,” Anderson said. “We want to support journalism, and we offer a 60% ad revenue share to the publishers who contribute content.”
AI Arms Race Comes to the Browser
The bids land as AI features become key features in the browser market. Microsoft has added Copilot Mode to Edge. Brave includes the Leo assistant. Opera runs on Google’s Gemini and is testing a next-gen browser called Neon. An OpenAI-built browser is rumored to be in development.
Search.com, which unveiled a generative AI platform earlier this month, says Chrome would serve as the backbone for what it calls “a platform built for public interest, not just profit.”
“Everyone should have free, equitable access to knowledge,” Anderson said. “We want to deliver that while keeping publishers paid and consumers in control.”
Google has not publicly responded to either proposal. According to Anderson and Abibi, the company has received Search.com’s offer.
With two competing bids on the table, the future of Chrome—and the role of AI in the browser space—is now firmly in play.
“We’ve put a stake in the ground,” Abibi said. “It’s now up to them.”
Perplexity did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
