Perplexity AI bids to join TikTok US

Perplexity AI officially made a play on TikTok on Saturday, submitting an offer to its parent company, ByteDance, to create a new entity combining Perplexity, TikTok US and new equity partners, CNBC has learned.

The new structure would allow most of ByteDance’s existing investors to keep their equity stakes and bring more videos to Perplexity, according to a source familiar with the situation who asked to remain anonymous due to the confidential nature of the potential deal.

Perplexity AI, it has artificial intelligence competing with search engine startup OpenAI and googleIt started around 2024 500 million dollars rating and the year ended with a rating of About $9 billionafter attracting increasing investor interest amid the AI ​​creator boom – as well debate over plagiarism accusations.

AI-assisted search has been seen by investors as one of them Google’s key risks because it can change the way consumers access information online. Last year, OpenAI, which started the creator AI craze with ChatGPT in late 2022, enter A search engine called SearchGPT. Google later start up Search for “AI Overviews”, allowing users to see a quick summary of the answers at the top of the results.

Although any possible transaction between Perplexity AI and ByteDance would take months to complete – and TikTok he said the app will go “dark” in the US on Sunday unless the Biden administration guarantees it won’t be penalized the appleGoogle and other service providers for hosting — President Donald Trump he told NBC News on Saturday He would “probably” give TikTok an additional 90 days to work out a deal after he was sworn into office on Monday.

In a video posted on TikTok on Friday, CEO Shou Zi Chew said, “I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.”

ByteDance has publicly stated will not sell TikTok US, therefore, believes Perplexity AI has a chance with its bid — as the proposal is more of a merger than a sale, the source told CNBC.

The source believes the fair price is “north of $50 billion,” but the final number attached to the proposal will be determined in part by which of ByteDance’s shareholders wants to remain part of the new entity and which wants to cash out. .

CORRECTION: Perplexity AI’s bid for TikTok would create a new entity combining Perplexity, TikTok US and new equity partners. An earlier version of this article misstated one of the participants.