Artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Perplexity has made a surprise $34.5bn (£25.6bn) takeover bid for Google's Chrome internet browser. Moving Chrome to an independent operator committed to user safety would benefit the public, Perplexity said in a letter to Sundar Pichai, the boss of Google's owner Alphabet.

Perplexity AI made a $34.5 billion unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet's Chrome browser on Tuesday, a bid far above its own valuation as the startup reaches for the browser's billions of users pivotal to the AI search race.

In an unlikely bid that shows the growing brashness of young artificial intelligence companies, the AI startup Perplexity has made an unsolicited offer to buy Google’s Chrome web browser for $34.5 billion.