The browser wars may be about to hit a new level of drama. As Google fights a major antitrust case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, rumors are swirling that the tech giant might be forced to sell its prized possession-Google Chrome.

Enter the contenders. After OpenAI made waves by expressing interest in acquiring Chrome, Perplexity, led by Aravind Srinivas, has now stepped into the ring. During court proceedings, Perplexity’s Chief Business Officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, didn’t hold back. When asked whether another company could run Chrome at scale, he confidently stated, “I think we could do it.”

OpenAI’s interest isn’t new. Nick Turley, Head of Product for ChatGPT, revealed that they had approached Google back in 2023 to access its search API, hoping to boost ChatGPT’s capabilities. But Google declined-worried about aiding a direct competitor. Since then, OpenAI has relied on Microsoft’s Bing, but they admit it’ll take years to build a reliable in-house search solution.

What’s more, if Chrome goes up for sale, the open-source Chromium engine goes with it. This platform powers not only Chrome but also several popular browsers like Arc. Google argues this could cause chaos-either through new paywalls or neglect of maintenance.

But the DOJ thinks otherwise. They believe Google’s dominance in search and browser tech could give it an unfair edge in AI, and that breaking up this control is essential for a fair tech future.