TikTok has finalized a landmark $14 billion deal to establish a new U.S. subsidiary as a majority American-owned joint venture, averting a nationwide ban on the popular short-video platform that has been a flashpoint in U.S.-China relations for years.
The agreement, announced on January 22, 2026, creates the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which will oversee TikTok's operations in the United States. This structure addresses longstanding national security concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers regarding ByteDance, TikTok's Beijing-based parent company, and potential risks of data access by the Chinese government or content manipulation.
Under the terms, three managing investors—tech giant Oracle, U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence-focused investment company MGX—each hold a 15% stake, totaling 45%. ByteDance retains a minority stake of 19.9%, while the remaining ownership is distributed among other American and aligned investors, including the Dell Family Office (the investment arm of Dell Technologies chairman and CEO Michael Dell), Vastmere Strategic Investments LLC, Alpha Wave Partners, Revolution, Merritt Way, Via Nova, Virgo LI, Inc., and NJJ Capital. Collectively, non-Chinese entities control over 80% of the new venture.
The deal's valuation for TikTok's U.S. business has been cited around $14 billion, a figure referenced by Vice President JD Vance during earlier announcements. Oracle will play a central role in hosting and managing U.S. user data on its domestic cloud infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive safeguards. The U.S. platform will retrain, test, and update its content recommendation algorithm using American user data only, with strict controls over data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances.
Governance falls to a seven-member board, majority American, including:
- TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew;
- Oracle Executive Vice President Kenneth Glueck;
- Timothy Dattels, senior adviser at TPG Global;
- Mark Dooley, managing director at Susquehanna International Group;
- Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban;
- DXC Technology CEO Raul Fernandez;
- David Scott, chief strategy and safety officer at MGX.
Adam Presser, previously TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, has been appointed CEO of the new joint venture.
The roots of this agreement trace back to April 2024, when Congress passed—and then-President Joe Biden signed—a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. operations to non-Chinese owners by January 19, 2025, or face a ban, citing risks of surveillance, data harvesting, and influence operations. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legislation in early 2025, briefly causing a short-lived blackout of the app before enforcement was paused.
Upon returning to office, President Donald Trump repeatedly delayed the ban through executive orders while negotiations progressed. In September 2025, Trump signed an order approving the deal framework, granting extensions and setting a final January 23, 2026, deadline for closure. An internal memo from CEO Shou Zi Chew in December 2025 indicated the agreement would conclude by late January.
Trump welcomed the finalization in a Truth Social post, calling it a victory for American investors and TikTok's future. "I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!" he wrote. "It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice." He specifically thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping "for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal," noting Xi "could have gone the other way, but didn’t, and is appreciated for his decision." Trump described the outcome as a "very dramatic, final, and beautiful conclusion."
The arrangement has been portrayed by supporters as a "qualified divestiture" that severs ByteDance's effective control while preserving the platform for its more than 200 million U.S. users, who rely on it for entertainment, news, creativity, and livelihoods.
Vice President JD Vance emphasized that U.S. control over the algorithm—a core negotiation point—was secured, describing it as essential to meeting national security requirements. Oracle's involvement ensures data remains in the U.S., reducing risks of foreign access.
However, skepticism persists among critics and national security experts. Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, argued that Beijing may retain significant leverage despite the minority stake, questioning whether true independence from Chinese influence has been achieved. Some lawmakers have vowed continued scrutiny to verify compliance with U.S. laws and assurances against surveillance or manipulation.
Chinese officials have responded cautiously, stating any deal must comply with Chinese laws and balance all parties' interests, without offering full public endorsement.
The deal ends a six-year saga that began during Trump's first term with initial attempts to ban or force a sale over similar concerns. It reflects a pragmatic resolution amid heightened U.S.-China tensions, allowing TikTok to remain operational while shifting governance, data hosting, and algorithmic oversight to American-led entities.
For users, the transition should be seamless: the same app continues, with no immediate changes to functionality. Behind the scenes, enhanced safeguards aim to protect privacy and prevent misuse. The agreement sets a precedent for how foreign-owned tech platforms can operate in the U.S. under strict security conditions, potentially influencing future cases involving apps tied to adversarial nations.
As implementation begins, focus will shift to monitoring enforcement of data silos, algorithm independence, and content policies. Success could stabilize TikTok's presence in America; failure might reignite calls for stricter measures.
This resolution, brokered through high-level diplomacy and private investment, underscores the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and commerce in the digital age.
