Yazılar

AI Startup Perplexity Offers $34.5 Billion for Google Chrome

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Perplexity AI, led by Aravind Srinivas, made an unsolicited all-cash bid of $34.5 billion to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, a price far above its own $14 billion valuation. The offer comes as web browsers regain importance in the AI search race, providing access to billions of users and valuable search data.

Perplexity, which already operates an AI-enabled browser called Comet, plans to maintain Chrome’s open-source Chromium code, invest $3 billion over two years, and preserve the default search engine, pledging no equity component in the deal. The startup has raised around $1 billion from investors including Nvidia and SoftBank and stated multiple funds are willing to finance the offer.

Google has not commented and has no plans to sell Chrome, with regulatory pressure and an ongoing antitrust case possibly leading to a prolonged legal battle. Analysts note the sale could take years to resolve, with appeals potentially reaching the Supreme Court. Perplexity’s move follows previous high-profile offers, such as its bid for TikTok US in January, and highlights the growing competition in AI-driven search and browsers.

Anthropic Offers Claude AI Chatbot to U.S. Government for $1

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Anthropic, the AI startup backed by Amazon.com, announced it will offer its Claude AI model to the U.S. government for just $1. The move makes Claude one of several AI tools available to federal agencies at minimal cost, as startups compete for lucrative government contracts.

This announcement follows the inclusion of Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini on the government’s list of approved AI vendors. CEO Dario Amodei stated, “America’s AI leadership requires that our government institutions have access to the most capable, secure AI tools available.”

OpenAI made a similar offer last week, providing ChatGPT Enterprise to participating federal agencies for $1 per agency for the next year. Anthropic’s initiative highlights the growing competition among AI companies to provide secure and advanced technologies to the U.S. government.

CoreWeave Beats Q2 Revenue Estimates on AI Demand but Posts Larger Loss

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Cloud services provider CoreWeave exceeded second-quarter revenue expectations on Tuesday, driven by strong demand for AI infrastructure, but a larger-than-expected net loss pushed its shares down 10% in after-hours trading.

REVENUE AND BACKLOG

  • Q2 revenue: $1.21 billion (est. $1.08B)

  • Revenue backlog: $30.1 billion as of June 30, up from $25.9 billion on March 31

  • Annual revenue forecast: Raised to $5.15–$5.35 billion from prior $4.9–$5.1 billion

LOSSES AND COSTS

  • Net loss: $290.5 million (est. $190.6M)

  • Operating expenses: Jumped to $1.19 billion from $317.7 million a year earlier
    CEO Michael Intrator noted the main challenge is accessing power shells to support AI infrastructure at scale.

AI GROWTH AND STRATEGY
CoreWeave operates 33 AI data centers in the U.S. and Europe and provides access to Nvidia chips for enterprises training large AI models.
The company highlighted rising demand for AI inference, particularly chain-of-thought reasoning models, which significantly increase computational requirements.

M&A AND CUSTOMER CONCENTRATION

  • CoreWeave’s $9 billion all-stock acquisition of Core Scientific will secure 1.3 GW of power under contract, though some shareholders oppose the deal.

  • The company acknowledged that its reliance on large customers like OpenAI is both a strategic advantage and a potential risk.

  • Contracts with hyperscalers have been expanded to meet growing demand.

MARKET RESPONSE
Shares fell 10% after-hours to $133.71, despite nearly tripling since the March IPO. Analysts noted that strong revenue visibility is tempered by cost growth and customer concentration risks.