TikTok owner ByteDance is being offered a potential escape route from a US ban by merging its US subsidiary, Perplexity AI, into the platform. The bid aims to avoid a 90-day ban on TikTok in the country unless Chinese-owned ByteDance sells it.
Perplexity AI, an AI search engine startup worth around $9 billion, has proposed merging with TikTok U.S. and new capital partners to maintain most of ByteDance’s investor stakes. This move would allow ByteDance to keep investors on board while sidestepping the US ban.
The ban was passed by Congress last year, citing national security risks due to TikTok’s ties to China. The White House has stated that President Biden won’t enforce the ban, but President-elect Trump is likely to call for a 90-day reprieve.
ByteDance has indicated it will go dark on Sunday unless the Biden administration provides “definitive” assurance that the ban won’t be enforced. Meanwhile, billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary has made a $20 billion cash offer for TikTok, which some see as the most viable solution to avoid the US ban.
Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/ai-company-perplexity-bids-merge-tiktok-avoid-ban