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Would OpenAI or Perplexity Buy Chrome? What the Google Antitrust Case Decided

OpenAI’s interest was conditional, Perplexity made an unsolicited offer, and Google was not ordered to sell Chrome in the U.S. search antitrust case.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
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OpenAI said it would be interested in buying Chrome if Google were forced to sell it; Perplexity later made an unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer. Neither statement resulted in a sale. In the U.S. search antitrust case, the court did not order Google to divest Chrome.

What OpenAI and Perplexity actually did

Company What happened What it did not mean
OpenAI On April 22, 2025, product head Nick Turley testified that OpenAI would be interested in buying Chrome if enforcers succeeded in forcing Google to sell it. Reuters, republished by Investing.com It was conditional testimony, not a purchase bid or completed transaction.
Perplexity In August 2025, Perplexity made an unsolicited all-cash offer reported at $34.5 billion. Reuters, republished by Investing.com The reported amount was an offer, not a court-established valuation or accepted purchase price. Google had not put Chrome up for sale.

The distinction matters: OpenAI expressed conditional interest, while Perplexity submitted a monetary proposal. The available reporting does not establish that Google accepted either proposal or that either company acquired Chrome.

Did the court make Google sell Chrome?

No. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected a Chrome divestiture as a remedy in its September 2, 2025 decision. The Associated Press reported that Judge Amit Mehta viewed a forced sale as a poor fit for the case. Associated Press, September 2, 2025

The Department of Justice had proposed divestiture during the remedies phase of the search case. That proposal was not the same thing as a court order. The court instead ordered other search-related measures, including limits on certain exclusive distribution arrangements, data access for rivals, and search and search-text-ad syndication requirements, according to the DOJ’s summary. U.S. Department of Justice, September 2, 2025, updated April 15, 2026

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What happened after the remedies ruling?

The remedies decision and the final judgment are separate milestones. The DOJ’s docket for the 2020 search case lists a final judgment and memorandum opinion dated December 5, 2025, followed by later status and compliance filings, including a September 17, 2026 status report. The case is therefore in judgment implementation and related appellate or compliance activity; the docket does not change the central outcome that Chrome was not ordered sold. DOJ 2020 search case docket, updated September 18, 2026

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Which Google antitrust case is this?

This story concerns the federal search monopolization case filed in 2020, United States and Plaintiff States v. Google LLC. It is separate from the DOJ’s 2023 Google ad-tech case. The latter has its own docket and is not the proceeding in which the Chrome remedies ruling was issued. DOJ 2023 ad-tech case docket

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