Perplexity’s $34.5 Billion Chrome Bid, OpenAI’s Neuralink Rivalry, Anthropic’s $1 US Gov Move

The technology world is full of crisscrossing business models.

Social media giants are getting into AI (artificial intelligence), smartphone makers are turning into automakers, EV (electric vehicle) manufacturers are moving into hospitality, and more.

Of course, diversifying portfolios and markets isn’t a novel concept. However, the digital age has not only enabled companies to explore diverse spaces but also encouraged them to pursue innovation in such areas.

Ultimately, this allows any company to become a direct competitor of another with simple mergers, acquisitions, or the founding of new firms. This enables them to enter any sector or market quickly, all with an established and ready infrastructure.

Keeping to this thought, AI startup Perplexity is looking to enter the browser market with its recent bid of $34.5 billion to acquire Google’s Chrome browser—an offer that was unsolicited.

Currently, Google’s Chrome holds a global browser market share of just under 70%.

Interestingly, Perplexity’s valuation sits at $18 billion—almost half its offered price for the Chrome purchase—post a $100 million funding round. However, the company cites venture investors who have proposed funding the acquisition.

Google and Perplexity are already competitors, as the latter recently launched an AI-powered search engine as well as a browser called Comet, which scours the internet to offer users answers to their questions with links to the sources.

The company plans to offer support for Chrome for 100 months and pour in $3 billion in Chromium over the next two years, as per Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer. Dwyer also confirmed it would maintain users’ browsing preferences, which includes keeping Google as the default search engine—and the move comes as Perplexity “believes in the open web.”

That is if Google ever agrees to sell its prized browser.

Ultimately, that decision may not be up to them, as Google was found to be holding a monopoly in online search, leading the United States Justice Department to issue a directive requiring the company to sell Chrome. Of course, Google hasn’t put Chrome on sale yet, and doesn’t intend to—it plans to appeal the U.S. court ruling.

Yet, Google’s resolve may not thwart Perplexity’s ambition. The AI startup is keen on picking up big names to bring under its wings, having tried to acquire TikTok post its own sale directive by the U.S. government.

Google didn’t provide a comment on the matter.


In another crisscrossing of industries—again with an AI company—Sam Altman and his OpenAI are preparing to rival Elon Musk’s Neuralink in the brain-computer interface (BCI) sector.

As per sources familiar with the matter, OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman are in the process of setting up Merge Labs, a new BCI startup, and are looking to raise funds—most of which are expected to come from OpenAI’s ventures team.

While OpenAI’s involvement is not confirmed, initial expectations note that the startup will be valued at $850 million.

The startup is expected to work with Alex Blania from Tools for Humanity—which was formerly called World— an eye-scanning digital ID project that was co-founded by Sam Altman.

However, Sam Altman’s Merge Labs will have to play catch-up with Neuralink, which is well ahead with at least 9 implanted patients and a mega $1 billion annual revenue and 20,000-patients-a-year ambition.

All this comes as OpenAI released the highly anticipated GPT-5, a move that faced heavy criticism—and sparked numerous memes—prompting the AI leader to rollback part of the rollout.

Yet, this kind of pushback offers a more positive note—and flattery—as users say they enjoy OpenAI’s previous products and provide feedback for new releases, allowing the company to iron out the mistakes.

However, when pushbacks come from rivals, it can create challenges, chaos, and concerns.

This is what Anthropic is aiming for with its latest move.

Following in the footsteps of OpenAI, Anthropic announced it is offering Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government to the U.S. government for $1.

This will be applicable for all three branches of government, including federal civilian executive branch agencies, as well as legislative and judiciary branches. The AI company will also provide technical support to help agencies rapidly implement AI into their productivity and mission workflows, ensuring successful adoption.

The move adds to the existing partnership Anthropic has with the General Services Administration.

“As AI adoption leads to transformation across industries, we want to ensure that federal workers can fully harness these capabilities to better serve the American people,” read Anthropic’s news release. “By removing cost barriers, we're enabling the government to access the same advanced AI that's already proving its value in the private sector.”

Do you think Anthropic will be able to challenge OpenAI as far as government use goes?
Do you think OpenAI will be able to challenge Neuralink in the BCI sector?
Do you think Perplexity will be able to acquire Google’s Chrome and capture its leading position in the browser market?

Let us know in the comments below!