(Reuters) – Perplexity AI asked TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, on Saturday to allow the US search engine to merge with US-based TikTok and create a new entity that integrates with New. Capital Partners (WA:), CNBC reported.
TikTok faces a US ban starting Sunday if it does not cut ties with ByteDance, although President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he could give the short-form social media platform 90 days until Monday.
The new structure proposed by Perplexity will allow most of ByteDance's existing investors to retain their equity shares and will bring more video to Perplexity, the report said, citing an unnamed source familiar with the situation.
Perplexity AI and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment. New Capital Partners could not immediately be reached.
Perplexity AI believes its bid can win because the proposal is for a merger rather than a sale, the report added.
Perplexity AI search tools enable users to find quick answers to questions, as well as sources and citations. It's powered by massive language models that can abstract and generate information, from OpenAI to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:)' Llama open source model.
TikTok, which has captured nearly half of all Americans, is a powerful small business and internet culture, said on Friday that it will go dark in the US on Sunday unless the administration of President Joe Biden provides guarantees to companies such as Apple (NASDAQ 🙂 and Google (NASDAQ:) that they will not face enforcement actions when the ban goes into effect.