O’Leary Ventures president has the latest on his TikTok bid on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
Artificial intelligence (AI) firm Perplexity AI has offered to merge with TikTok US so the video-sharing platform can avoid a ban in the country, according to a report.
The offer to the platform’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would bring together Perplexity AI, TikTok US and new equity partners and allow the majority of ByteDance investors to retain their equity stakes, CNBC reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Congress enacted a ban TikTok last year that takes effect on Sunday unless Chinese-owned ByteDance sells the company.
POTENTIAL TIKTOK BAN: WHAT SOCIAL NETWORK APPS ARE APPEARING IN APP STORES
TikTok is facing a ban in the US, which is set to take effect on Sunday. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis/AP Newsroom)
The White House said President Biden would not enforce the ban, and said President-elect Trump he would probably ask for a 90-day suspension of the ban, which is allowed by law.
Still, ByteDance said Saturday it plans to “go dark” Sunday unless the Biden administration gives “definitive” assurances that the ban will not be implemented.
Perplexity is an AI search engine startup that launched last year. It is worth about 9 billion dollars, CNBC reported.
Perplexity is an AI search engine startup launched last year. It is worth about 9 billion dollars, CNBC reported. (Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
BIDEN WILL NOT IMPLEMENT TIKTOK BAN AFTER SIGNING LAW LAST YEARS, LEAVING FATE TO TRUMP: OFFICIAL
On Friday, the US The Supreme Court confirmed bipartisan bill, citing national security risks from its ties to China.
Although ByteDance has suggested it won’t sell TikTok, the “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary said on Fox News On Friday, he offered $20 billion in cash for it.
President-elect Trump has said he will likely seek a 90-day delay on the ban, which is allowed in the text of the bill. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“There’s a reason Congress put this order before the Supreme Court. There’s a reason they ruled in its favor. It’s not worth the risk,” he said. “And, therefore, the obvious solution is to sell it to an American syndicate under a warrant.”
FOX Business has reached out to Bytedance and Perplexity AI for comment.
