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.

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.

TikTok, which faces the ticking clock of a ban enforcement, is being pursued by several suitors for a US merger or sale.