Whether TikTok stays with Perplexity AI's backing or goes, without that juicy algorithm ByteDance doesn’t seem willing to part with, the app won't ever be the same.

A new TikTok proposal is on the table. Perplexity AI has proposed a merger that would give the U.S. government a 50% ownership stake.

Perplexity AI has presented a new proposal to TikTok’s parent company that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok’s U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.