Even if temporary, the unprecedented shutdown of TikTok will have an impact on U.S.-China relations, domestic politics, the social-media marketplace and millions of Americans who depend on the app.

Artificial Intelligence backed search engine Perplexity AI has submitted a bid with TikTok parent company Bytedance to merge with TikTok US, according to a Reuters report. Reportedly, Perplexity AI would merge with TikTok US and create a new entity called New Capital Partners.

Potential buyers for TikTok US include MrBeast, Kevin O'Leary, Frank McCourt's Project Liberty and Perplexity AI, who bid a merger instead of a sale,

TikTok is an AI app. Not an “ask a bot to do your homework” kind of AI app, but an AI app all the same: Its algorithm processes and acts upon huge amounts of data to keep users engaged. Without that fundamental, freakishly well-tuned technology, TikTok wouldn’t really be anything at all—just another video or shopping platform.

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is required to sell the app to a U.S.-based buyer or face a nationwide ban.

But the model is only meant to be used within China’s mainland, a ByteDance spokesperson told TechCrunch. The e-reader’s China-based manufacturer, Onyx International, which sells Boox e-readers in both China and to the U.

U.S. search engine startup Perplexity AI submitted a bid on Saturday to TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance for Perplexity to merge with TikTok U.S., a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters.

The search engine platform Perplexity AI submitted a bid to merge with TikTok on Saturday, a source familiar told The Hill. The move follows a Friday Supreme Court ruling that upheld the decision

Perplexity AI asked TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, on Saturday to allow the U.S. search engine startup to merge with TikTok U.S. and create a new entity combining them and New Capital Partners,

Just one day before TikTok is expected to shut down in the US, startup Perplexity AI has submitted a bid to TikTok’s parent company ByteDance proposing a merger that would allow it to continue operating,

The deadline for compliance with a US law requiring ByteDance to either sell TikTok or face a ban is set for 19 January 2025. However, President-elect Donald Trump has suggested a possible 90-day extension to allow further negotiations.