TikTok Government Takeover: Perplexity AI’s Latest Bid Offers US 50% Stake

• Perplexity AI has revamped its TikTok acquisition bid to offer the U.S. government 50% of the new merger.
• The news comes as competition heats up between buyers of TikTok’s U.S. operations.
• President Donald Trump is reportedly negotiating a deal that will see Oracle take over TikTok’s algorithm, data collection, and software updates.

Search engine startup Perplexity AI has revised its initial acquisition offer, which, if successful, will give the U.S. government up to 50% of its new merger company.

Perplexity’s bid proposes a combination with TikTok U.S. to create a new company, reportedly named NewCo.

Perplexity AI Issues New TikTok Bid

The new proposal calls for the U.S. government to own up to 50% of the combined company in a future initial public offering (IPO), Reuters reported , citing a person familiar with the matter.

ByteDance received a document from Perplexity proposing the creation of a new company named “NewCo,” according to the source.

The proposal states that ByteDance would sell TikTok U.S. to investors, giving the video-sharing app’s existing investors equity in the company.

Upon going through an IPO, Perplexity proposed that the U.S. government own up to half of the new structure at a valuation of at least $300 billion.

TikTok Bidding Heats Up

TikTok is currently racing to find a buyer for its U.S. business before it faces a nationwide ban.

After receiving a 75-day extension on the original deadline by newly appointed President Trump, competition is heating up between potential buyers of the platform, which houses 170 million American users.

President Trump is reportedly now negotiating a TikTok deal with Oracle and a group of investors, which will see them take control of the Chinese-owned app’s global operations, NPR reported on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Under the new deal, ByteDance would retain a minority stake in the company but would hand over the app’s algorithm, data collection, and software updates to Oracle.

Oracle currently handles TikTok’s Web infrastructure.

The news comes as several potential investors have shown interest in the app, including Tesla boss Elon Musk and YouTuber Mr Beast.

Donald Trump Likes TikTok

Before signing an executive order delaying TikTok’s ban, President Trump had expressed his “warm spot” for the Chinese-owned app.

Trump’s love for TikTok is somewhat surprising, given he attempted to ban it during his first term.

However, a new frontier of content during his campaign on the app, which he claimed reached millions of people, got the President to see the app in a new light.

Trump’s fondness for the app has gone so far that he recently downplayed the national security risks his allies in government have been fiercely warning the country about.

Talking to Fox News, he said : “Is it that important for China to be spying on young people, on young kids, watching crazy videos?”

The move puts the President in a minority in the White House, with even close allies of Trump calling for the app’s demise in the country.

Brendan Carr, the chair of the FCC, said , “TikTok’s own conduct makes clear that it is beholden to the CCP and presents an unacceptable threat to U.S. national security.”

As a deal seems to get closer to becoming reality, only time will see if Trump’s “warm spot” for TikTok will impact the app’s standing in America.