WASHINGTON (AP) — Perplexity AI has presented a new proposal to TikTok’s parent company that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a

New bid for TikTok from Perplexity AI could give US government 50% stake

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2025-01-27 01:00:06

WASHINGTON (AP) — Perplexity AI has presented a new proposal to TikTok’s parent company that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The proposal, submitted last week, is a revision of a prior plan the artificial intelligence startup had presented to TikTok’s parent ByteDance on Jan. 18, a day before the law that bans TikTok went into effect.

The first proposal, which ByteDance hasn’t responded to, sought to create a new structure that would merge San Francisco-based Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. business and include investments from other investors.

The new proposal would allow the U.S. government to own up to half of that new structure once it makes an initial public offering of at least $300 billion, said the person, who was not authorized to speak about the proposal. The person said Perplexity’s proposal was revised based off of feedback from the Trump administration.

If the plan is successful, the shares owned by the government would not have voting power, the person said. The government also would not get a seat on the new company’s board.