Although TikTok does not appear overly motivated regarding the sale of the app, potential buyers include an initiative called “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” launched by real estate and sports tycoon Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative.
Others in the running are Microsoft, Oracle and a group that includes Internet personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.
“Any acquisition by a consortium of investors could in effect keep ByteDance in control of the algorithm, while any acquisition by a competitor would likely create a monopoly in the short form video and information space,” Perplexity contended in the post.
“All of society benefits when content feeds are liberated from the manipulations of foreign governments and globalist monopolists.”
Perplexity said it would build infrastructure for TikTok at data centres in the United States and maintain it with US oversight.
The AI startup also proposed rebuilding TikTok’s winning algorithm “from the ground up”, making the app’s “For You” recommendation feed open-source.
Perplexity also vowed to enable TikTok users to cross-reference information as they watch videos to check their veracity.
According to two sources familiar with the discussions, White House-led talks on the future of TikTok are coalescing around a plan that entails spinning off a US entity for TikTok and diluting Chinese ownership in the new business to below the 20 per cent threshold required by US law.
Jeff Yass’ Susquehanna International Group and Bill Ford’s General Atlantic, both of which are represented on ByteDance’s board, are leading discussions with the White House on the plan, the sources told Reuters.
Private equity firm KKR is also participating, one of the sources said.
Under the plan proposed by existing investors, software giant Oracle would continue to house US user data and provide assurances that the data is not accessible from China, the source added.
Representatives for TikTok, ByteDance, Susquehanna, Oracle and the White House could not immediately be reached for comment.
General Atlantic and KKR declined to comment.
According to legal filings from TikTok last year, global investors own about 58 per cent of ByteDance, while the company’s Singapore-based Chinese founder Zhang Yiming owns another 21 per cent and employees of different nationalities – including about 7,000 Americans – own the remaining 21 per cent.
The White House has been involved to an unprecedented level in the closely watched deal talks, effectively playing the role of an investment bank.
