US search engine start-up Perplexity AI submitted a bid on Saturday to TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動) for Perplexity to merge with TikTok US, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Reuters.
TikTok faced a US ban that started yesterday if it did not cut ties with ByteDance, although US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday said that he would likely give the short-video social-media platform a 90-day reprieve today.
CNBC first reported the offer.
Photo: Reuters
Perplexity would merge with TikTok US and create a new entity by combining the merged company with New Capital Partners LLC, the source said.
The new structure would allow for most of ByteDance’s existing investors to retain their equity stakes and would bring more videos to Perplexity, the source said.
Perplexity believes its bid might succeed, as the proposal is a merger rather than a sale, the source said.
Perplexity’s search tools enable users to get fast answers to questions, with sources and citations. It is powered by large language models that can sum up and generate information, from OpenAI to Meta Platforms Inc’s open-source model Llama.
TikTok, which has captivated nearly half of all Americans, powered small businesses and shaped online culture, on Friday said that it would go dark in the US yesterday unless US President Joe Biden’s administration provided assurances to companies such as Apple Inc and Google that they would not face enforcement actions when a ban takes effect.
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