Perplexity, the AI-powered answer engine startup founded in San Francisco in 2022, is proposing to acquire TikTok and make its recommendation algorithm open-source as part of a broader plan to rebuild the platform. 

The company has outlined its vision for the popular social media app amid uncertainty regarding TikTok’s future in the United States.

Transparency and Infrastructure Plans

According to Perplexity’s blog post, the company aims to rebuild TikTok’s “For You” algorithm with transparency as its guiding principle. 

The startup plans to develop and maintain the platform’s infrastructure in American data centers with American oversight to ensure alignment with domestic privacy standards and regulations.

“Our promise is to turn TikTok into the most neutral and trusted platform in the world,” Perplexity states in its blog post. “To achieve this, we commit not only to developing a new algorithm but also to making the TikTok For You feed open source.”

Technical Enhancements Proposed

Perplexity claims its AI infrastructure, powered by Nvidia Dynamo, could significantly scale TikTok’s recommender models while improving inference speed. 

The company plans to implement several technical enhancements to the platform:

• Citations for TikTok videos to help users cross-reference information in real-time
• Integration of Perplexity’s answer engine with TikTok’s video library to create an enhanced search experience
• AI-powered content enrichment, including automatic translation and annotation capabilities
• Implementation of a context system that leverages community feedback and AI to highlight reliable information

Image source: Perplexity

Acquisition Competition

Perplexity first announced its bid to acquire TikTok in January, though it faces competition from larger entities. Oracle, Microsoft, and a consortium of investors led by Frank McCourt are also contenders looking to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Industry analysts value TikTok’s operations between $40 billion and $50 billion. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has reported that Perplexity is in “early talks” for a new funding round that would value the startup at $18 billion.

After the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. could ban the app, President Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban for 75 days, which expires on April 5.

ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based owner, has been reluctant to sell the company’s U.S. operations, leading to uncertainty for the platform’s users.

The Verge notes that Perplexity has previously engaged in publicity-generating activities, including airing a commercial featuring “Squid Game” actor Lee Jung-Jae that criticized Google’s AI Overviews, attempting to sponsor an F1 team, and claiming to hire actor Jimmy O. Yang as its Chief Security Officer.