Perplexity AI has reportedly laid out a bid for TikTok that could also see the US government own half of the video-sharing app.
According to the Associated Press, TikTok’s US business would be merged with San Francisco-based Perplexity under the proposal, submitted last week.
Following an earlier bid, the latest proposal was reportedly laid out after discussions with the Trump administration.
Donald Trump had signalled the US could buy part of the app after his inauguration last week, as an effective nationwide ban on TikTok was also pushed back.
Beijing-based ByteDance has been ordered to sell TikTok’s operations or face the app being taken offline in the US, leading to a brief blackout ahead of Trump’s White House return.
However, Perplexity’s proposal would reportedly see ByteDance retain a stake, albeit without any longer contributing to the algorithm that fuels the app.
The US government could own up to half of the new entity following an initial public offering of at least US$300 billion, but would not have any voting power.