Here’s what you should know about TikTok’s US deal

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has been at the center of controversy in the United States for years now over concerns about the Chinese government’s access to user data.

On Thursday, January 22, 2026, TikTok announced the formal formation of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC in compliance with President Trump’s executive order approving the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a group of U.S. investors. Now, ByteDance will own less than 20% of the new entity, with the rest of the stake falling under non-Chinese ownership.

Over the years, American users have often found themselves caught in the middle of this tension, facing uncertainty about how their access to the app will change — for creators who use TikTok to make a living, the stakes have been higher. Last year, the app experienced a temporary outage in the US, leaving millions of users in suspense before it was quickly restored. TikTok returned to the App Store and Google Play Store on February 2, 2025.

A number of investors competed to buy the app, and after President Trump extended the deadline to ban TikTok for the fourth time, the battle finally stopped. In December 2025, TikTok officially signed a deal to divest part of its US entity to a group of US investors.

Earlier in 2025, President Trump announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping had given his approval to a TikTok deal, which would allow a consortium of American investors to take control of the platform. ByteDance has publicly stated that it will ensure the platform remains available to US users.

Who owns TikTok in the US?

ByteDance will retain approximately 20% of the company’s shares, while non-Chinese investors will retain the remaining 80% ownership of the TikTok USDS joint venture.

The management investor group consists of Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and investment firm MGX. These three investors will each own 15% of the US operations, or 45% collectively.

Other investors, including existing ByteDance investors, make up another 35% of the project’s ownership. This includes the Dell Family Office (Michael Dell’s investment firm), Susquehanna’s Vastmere, Alpha Wave Partners, and several other companies listed in TikTok’s press release.

Reports estimate that TikTok US is worth around $14 billion – a figure also mentioned by Vice President J.D. Vance.

The newly formed TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will oversee the app’s operations, including data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance.

Oracle will act as a trusted security partner, responsible for auditing and ensuring compliance with national security requirements, according to the memo. The company already provides cloud services for TikTok and manages user data in the US. Notably, Oracle previously made an offer to buy TikTok in 2020.

A White House official said earlier that Oracle will replicate and secure a new American version of the algorithm, and TikTok owners residing in the United States can rent the algorithm from ByteDance, which Oracle will then retrain.

ByteDance will not have access to information about TikTok users in the US or any influence on the US algorithm.

How will TikTok change for US users?

Since the deal was just finalized, it’s not clear exactly how TikTok’s 200 million US users will be affected.

While previous reports suggested that users in the US may need to move to a new platform, more recent reports have denied this claim, assuring users that they will not need to download a new app.

It’s also unclear how users’ algorithmic feeds will be affected at this time.

How did we get here?

To fully understand this high-stakes drama, we’ll first revisit the timeline of TikTok’s turbulent relationship with the US government, which led to various legal battles and negotiations.

The drama first began in August 2020, when Trump signed an executive order banning transactions with parent company ByteDance.

A month later, the Trump administration sought to force the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a US-based company. Key contenders include Microsoft, Oracle and Walmart. However, a US judge temporarily halted Trump’s executive order, allowing TikTok to continue operating while the legal battle unfolds.

Things began to progress more after the transition to the Biden administration. After the Senate passed the bill against TikTok, President Joe Biden signed it.

In response, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the US government, challenging the constitutionality of the ban and saying that the app and its American users had their First Amendment rights violated. The company has consistently denied that it poses a security threat, stressing that its data stored in the United States complies with all local laws.

Fast forward to 2024: Trump has changed his mind since his first term and has sought a 50-50 ownership arrangement between ByteDance and a US company.

There were several contenders, including the People’s Bid to buy TikTok, a consortium organized by Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt. This group has support from investment firm Guggenheim Securities and law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Supporters included Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, TV personality and investor Kevin O’Leary, World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, and senior research scientist David Clark.

Another group, called the Federation of American Investors, was led by Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley and includes Roblox co-founder David Baszowski, Anchorage Digital co-founder Nathan McCauley, and popular YouTuber MrBeast.

Other candidates include: Amazon, AppLovin, Microsoft, Perplexity AI, Rumble, Walmart, Zop, former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, and former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Story updated after publication.