A US federal judge ruled in August that Google has created and maintained an illegal monopoly on online search. This week, Google was back in court for a remedies trial in that case, to determine what the consequences will be should Google's appeal of that August ruling fail.

Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko said he didn’t want to testify in a trial about how to resolve Google’s search monopoly because he feared retribution from Google. But after being subpoenaed to appear in court, he seized the moment to pitch a business opportunity for his AI company: buying Chrome.

When Perplexity AI announced plans for its own browser, Comet, back in February, it seemed like a curious departure from its core identity as an AI-powered assistant. But now, thanks to a revealing podcast appearance by CEO Aravind Srinivas, the strategic intent is coming into focus — and it has everything to do with data.