TikTok has reached an agreement to hand over a majority of its US operations to a group of US investors, ending a years-long tussle in which the federal government tried to force the platform to do so.
The new partnership is described as a “new TikTok US joint venture” in an internal memo from ByteDance CEO Shaw Chew, which was seen by TechCrunch.
That arrangement would allow major American investors to take significant control of US-based businesses. The newly formed investor group includes cloud giant Oracle, tech-focused private equity firm Silverlake and AI-focused Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX. Together, those companies will own 45% of the U.S. operation, while ByteDance will retain about a 20% stake, the memo said. The new entity formed by this partnership has been dubbed “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.”
The memo said the new entity will be responsible for overseeing the app, including data security, algorithmic security, content moderation and software assurance. “A Trusted Security Partner will be responsible for auditing and verifying compliance with the agreed national security terms, and Oracle will be the Trusted Security Partner upon completion of the transaction,” the document says.
The closing date of the deal is listed as January 22, 2026. This news was originally reported by Axios.
Much of the deal, as described in the memo, matches the language of the executive order signed by President Trump in September. That memorandum also approved the sale of TikTok’s US operations to an American investor group. CNBC previously reported that Oracle, Silverlake and MGX will be the primary investors in the deal. So far, ByteDance has not disclosed details of such a deal, except that it will comply with US law to ensure that TikTok remains available to US users.
The US government has long been trying to separate TikTok’s US-based business from its Chinese parent company, citing national security concerns.
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