<\/p>\n
TikTok may be back online and in app stores, but its future in the United States is still far from certain. President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order delaying enforcement<\/a> of the ban was only a temporary reprieve for the company and the clock is once again running out<\/a> on a potential ban.<\/p>\n While ByteDance was once resistant to the idea of selling TikTok\u2019s US business, that seems to have changed since Trump took office. A ByteDance investor said<\/a> early this year that striking a deal to keep TikTok in the US is \u201cin everybody’s interest.” Officials in China also suggested they were \u201copen\u201d to a deal, according to<\/a> The Wall Street Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n A number of people and companies have signaled some interest in TikTok. Trump himself has said<\/a> he would like to see a \u201cbidding war\u201d for the app and that the US government should own a stake<\/a> in the company. What an eventual deal may look like, though, is unclear. These are the offers we currently know about. On March 9, Trump said the administration was “dealing with four different groups” on a potential deal, though he didn’t name names.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s executive order gave the company 75 days to come to an agreement, though he has recently said<\/a> he would “probably” extend the deadline if a deal isn’t reached by April 5.<\/p>\n NPR reported<\/a> in January that Oracle was working with Trump Administration officials on \u201ca plan to save TikTok that involves tapping software company Oracle and a group of outside investors to effectively take control of the app’s global operations.\u201d Under this arrangement, ByteDance \u201cwould retain a minority stake in the company\u201d but Oracle would oversee \u201cthe app’s algorithm, data collection and software updates.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent reports suggest<\/a> that a new investors, including Silicon Valley heavyweight Andreesen Horowitz, would join TikTok’s existing US investors to form a new entity. It could be called “TikTok America,” according to a report<\/a> in The Information. <\/em>This option is likely appealing because it wouldn’t require a new owner to attempt to re-architect the app’s algorithm and because TikTok has an existing partnership with Oracle. The cloud company already hosts<\/a> TikTok\u2019s US user data and the company was a key part<\/a> of TikTok\u2019s original negotiations to remain operational in the US under a plan called Project Texas. (Those negotiations abruptly fell apart<\/a> in 2022.)<\/p>\n Trump also previously signed off on a deal<\/a> for Oracle and Walmart to acquire a 20 percent stake in TikTok in 2020, when the president tried to ban the app during his first term. That deal never materialized.<\/p>\n Microsoft is reportedly also interested in playing a role in TikTok\u2019s future, according to the same NPR story, which said Microsoft was among the \u201cother potential investors\u201d involved in the talks with Oracle. Trump seemingly confirmed this. When asked directly if Microsoft was interested in buying TikTok, Trump responded<\/a> \u201cI would say yes.\u201d<\/p>\n As with Oracle, this isn\u2019t the first time Microsoft has attempted to acquire the social media company. Microsoft was in talks to buy TikTok in 2020<\/a> and take over its US business, but the deal abruptly fell apart<\/a>. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella later described<\/a> it as \u201cthe strangest thing I\u2019ve ever sort of worked on.\u201d<\/p>\n Just before TikTok briefly went offline<\/a>, Perplexity AI threw its hat into the ring, offering a deal<\/a> to ByteDance that \u201cwould \u201ccreate a new entity combining Perplexity, TikTok US and New Capital Partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Since then, Perplexity has tweaked its proposal. The company put out a detailed plan<\/a> outlining how it would rebuild the app’s core recommendation algorithm, integrate shortform videos into its search engine and bring a Community Notes-like fact checking feature to the service.<\/p>\n Another set of investors that\u2019s proposed a bid to buy TikTok is a group known as Project Liberty<\/a>. Led by investor Frank McCourt, it includes Kevin O\u2019Leary<\/a> of Shark Tank<\/em> fame. The group initially came forward before the ban took effect.<\/p>\n In March, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian announced<\/a> that he was joining the Project Liberty bid to acquire TikTok’s assets. “I’d love to see an app where users actually own their data and where creators have real control,” he wrote in a short post on X that hinted at a potential tie-in with… the blockchain. “Imagine bringing all those users seamlessly onchain…” An accompanying video referenced the possibility of “decentralized distribution,” but didn’t offer details.<\/p>\n O\u2019Leary previously told CNBC<\/a> that deals involving a government stake may not comply with the law. \u201cThat 50\/50 deal, I would love to work with Trump on, so would every other potential buyer … But the problem with some of these ideas is they are inconsistent with the ruling of the Supreme Court,\u201d he said. \u201cI would love to do a deal, if the law provided for it, but I don\u2019t have the luxury of breaching the order of Congress.\u201d Later, he said<\/a> that the deal “changes by the hour,” writing on X that “it’s clear to me now that we’re going to have to do a dance between the original owners, the founders of ByteDance itself, and interpreting the law of what Congress and Supreme Court has upheld.”<\/p>\n YouTuber MrBeast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, joked on X<\/a> about buying TikTok ahead of the initial ban. He later said<\/a> that \u201cso many billionaires\u201d had reached out to him about making an offer that he was going to try to actually pull it off.<\/p>\n Okay fine, I\u2019ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn\u2019t get banned<\/p>\n \u2014 MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n At least one group has already confirmed<\/a> his involvement, along with other \u201chigh-net-worth individuals\u201d looking to make an \u201call-cash offer.\u201d That group, led by employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley also reportedly includes Roblox CEO David Baszucki. According to Bloomberg<\/em>, together they have put together \u201csignificantly\u201d more than $20 billion<\/a> for a bid, though it\u2019s not clear how seriously their offer is being considered. Bloomberg<\/em> noted that there\u2019s also a possibility that MrBeast may attach himself to other bids.<\/p>\n Amazon reportedly made a last-ditch bid<\/a> to buy TikTok, according to reports in The New York Times <\/em>and Wall Street Journal.<\/em> The online retailer reportedly approached Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the offer, which doesn’t seem to be under serious consideration. Amazon declined to comment on the reports.<\/p>\n Another company to make a last-minute offer is AppLovin, a Silicon Valley company that makes software for app developers. The Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported<\/a> that the firm also has backing from Steve Wynn, a casino mogul and Trump donor. “AppLovin\u2019s pitch to the Trump administration, which would be funded by Wynn, was that it could solve national security concerns and unleash economic growth as a job creator,” The WSJ <\/em>reported.<\/p>\nOracle + new US investors<\/h2>\n
Microsoft<\/h2>\n
Perplexity AI<\/h2>\n
Project Liberty<\/h2>\n
MrBeast<\/h2>\n
\n
Amazon<\/h2>\n
AppLovin<\/h2>\n
OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely<\/h2>\n