Perplexity AI’s new bid for TikTok parent firm could give US govt 50% stake

Perplexity AI has presented a new proposal to TikTok’s parent company that would allow the US government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s US 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.