TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has signed a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors to form a majority American-owned joint venture. This arrangement will keep the social app operating in the United States. The agreement concludes a six-year political saga that began in 2020 when President Donald Trump attempted to ban the app over national security concerns during his first term.
Adam Presser, formerly TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, will be the CEO of the new entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. TikTok CEO Shou Chew will serve as a director of the venture.
The three managing investors are Oracle, the private equity firm Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX. Each will hold a fifteen percent stake. Other investors include Michael Dell’s family investment firm and several smaller investors.
According to TikTok, the new joint venture will operate under defined safeguards designed to protect national security. These include comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurances for users in the United States.
The joint venture will function as an independent entity governed by a board of seven members. In addition to Shou Chew, the board includes Timothy Dattels of TPG Global, Mark Dooley of Susquehanna International Group, Egon Durban who is co-CEO of Silver Lake, Raul Fernandez the CEO of DXC Technology, Kenneth Glueck of Oracle, and David Scott of MGX.
Former President Trump celebrated the deal in a post on his social media platform. He stated that the app will now be owned by a group of what he called great American patriots and investors, the biggest in the world, and will be an important voice.