Perplexity AI search startup has a new proposal to merge with TikTok, which would give the US government a stake of up to 50%.

A new TikTok proposal is on the table. Perplexity AI has proposed a merger that would give the U.S. government a 50% ownership stake.

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 an earlier plan the artificial intelligence startup presented to TikTok's parent ByteDance on 18 January, a day before the law that bans TikTok went into effect.

Perplexity's plan would allow the U.S. to own up to half of the new entity once it makes an initial offering of at least $300 billion.

Why Was TikTok Banned? Congress voted to ban TikTok in the U.S., citing concerns that the platform's ownership structure posed a security risk. The Biden administration spent mont

Perplexity AI has presented the new proposal to Byte Dance, TikTok’s parent company, as the organization searches for a U.S. buyer.