President Trump said Monday evening that Microsoft is among the US companies looking to take control of TikTok to help the popular app avert an effective ban that could kick-in in April, the AP reports. "I would say yes," Trump told reporters when asked if Microsoft was one of the companies interested in helping to bring about a new ownership of TikTok, a requirement set by Congress to keep the app functioning in the US. Trump added that other companies were also interested in purchasing TikTok, but wouldn't provide a list. "I like bidding wars because you make your best deals," Trump said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying back to Washington from Miami, where Republican House members were holding a conference.
Microsoft declined to comment. Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In one of his first acts in office last week, Trump extended the deadline for TikTok to find new ownership that satisfies the government by 75 days, to April 4 from January 19. The president has said that he's looking for the ultimate purchaser to give the US a 50% stake in the company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance. But the details remain murky, and it's unclear whether he's proposing control of the app by the government or another US entity.
Last week, the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI presented a new proposal to ByteDance that would allow the US government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok's US business, according to a person familiar with the matter. Several other investors—including billionaire Frank McCourt and Trump's former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin—have spoken publicly about their desire to purchase TikTok's US platform. Trump has also said he's spoken to "many people" privately about the company. Microsoft, along with Walmart, made a failed bid for TikTok during Trump's first term after Trump tried to ban the app. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella later described it as the "strangest thing I've ever worked on."
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