• by Colin Kirkland , March 21, 2025

Despite Oracle's recent discussions with the White House, Perplexity AI -- a free AI-powered search engine -- remains dedicated to purchasing TikTok, having published its own vision for rebuilding the platform in the U.S., including its powerful algorithm.

In January, Perplexity revised its initial takeover offer for the popular short-form video app that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of “NewCo,” the new company Perplexity is proposing, upon a future IPO.

The suggested deal aligned with what President Donald Trump proposed earlier that month -- “very simply, a joint venture,” in which ByteDance would contribute to TikTok U.S. (without its proprietary algorithm) and the federal government would own up to half of the entity once it IPOs at least $300 billion.

However, since its proposition, Perplexity has been overshadowed by Oracle, which has since emerged as the most likely company to buy TikTok.

Oracle has already worked with ByteDance on Project Texas, and was Trump's first choice as a potential buyer in 2020.

But recent reports highlight the security concerns at the center of Oracle's developing deal with the White House. There are currently elements in the deal that would not satisfy the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act -- a law passed earlier this year -- including ByteDance's continued control over TikTok's recommendation algorithm.

This is why Perplexity has stepped back into the frame, promising that if it were to win the deal, it would fully rebuild TikTok's algorithm “in American data centers with American oversight, ensuring alignment with domestic privacy standards and regulations,” the company says.

Perplexity contends that it is “singularly positioned” to rebuild TikTok's algorithm without creating a monopoly.

“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 writes.

“The TikTok algorithm today is a black box,” the company notes. “We believe these recommendation systems should be transparent. To eliminate risks of user manipulation, we propose rebuilding TikTok's algorithm from the ground up with transparency as the guiding principle.”

Perplexity says it will also make the “For You” feed open source, while using its own AI infrastructure -- powered by Dynamo, Nvidia's newest open-source inference framework -- to scale TikTok's recommender models 100x, ultimately achieving faster inference speeds.

The company says it would also boost transparency and cut down on misinformation via AI-powered in-app post citations.

“Perplexity's LLM orchestration can transform the TikTok experience by enriching videos with contextual information and even multilingual capabilities,” the company says, suggesting that automatic translations and annotation would help influencers reach wider audiences.

In general, Perplexity believes it would not only take over TikTok to address the federal government's security concerns, but would also rebuild the platform to operate even more effectively than it does today.

Interest on the part of the Trump administration is yet to be determined, but as Oracle’s proposed deal attracts more flack from lawmakers, Perplexity could potentially become a frontrunner prior to the April 5 selloff deadline.