TikTok has signed a joint venture agreement with a group of investors that will allow the social media platform to maintain operations in the United States and avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.
The deal comes after a prolonged dispute in the world’s largest economy, where TikTok boasts more than 170 million users. According to an internal memo seen by AFP, CEO Shou Chew told employees that TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance had agreed to the formation of a new US entity.
Major investors in the venture include Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Half of the US venture will be held by these new investors, each taking a 15 per cent stake. Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will hold just over 30 per cent, while ByteDance retains just under 20 per cent—the maximum ownership permitted for a Chinese company under US law.
Chew said the US joint venture will oversee data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance, ensuring that American users’ content, data, and software are secure. TikTok Global’s US entities will also manage global product interoperability and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing.
The deal responds to a US law, passed under the Biden administration, which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban. Successive executive orders by former President Donald Trump delayed enforcement, with the most recent deadline set for January 22, 2026.
Experts say the agreement represents a compromise that allows ByteDance to retain access to its lucrative US market while focusing on other ventures, including artificial intelligence projects, and potentially moving towards an initial public offering (IPO).
“The US market was of paramount importance to TikTok,” said Zhang Yi of research firm iiMedia, but he warned that regulatory pressures from US authorities could still pose challenges for the company in the future.
