US President Donald Trump welcomed TikTok’s new majority American-owned joint venture on Wednesday and thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approving the deal.
“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal,” he added.
The announcement follows years of uncertainty for the short-video platform, which has over 200 million users in the United States. The move comes after Trump’s efforts to ban the app in 2020, citing national security concerns over data access by its Chinese owner, ByteDance.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake in the new entity, while American and global investors will hold 80.1%. TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will oversee US user data, content, and algorithms with enhanced cybersecurity and data privacy measures. Oracle, the cloud computing company, along with private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, will each manage a 15% stake in the venture.
White House officials confirmed that both US and Chinese authorities have signed off on the arrangement, though the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. The deal mirrors earlier terms outlined in September, when Trump delayed enforcement of a law that threatened to ban the app unless ByteDance divested its US operations.
TikTok said the venture will retrain and update its recommendation algorithm using US user data, with the system secured in Oracle’s cloud. While the venture will manage the app’s technology and data, ByteDance will continue to oversee revenue-generating operations, including advertising and e-commerce. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will join the venture’s board, while Adam Presser and Will Farrell have been named CEO and chief security officer, respectively.
Investors in the joint venture include high-profile names such as the Dell Family Office, Vastmere Strategic Investments, Alpha Wave Partners, Revolution, Merritt Way, Via Nova, Virgo LI, and NJJ Capital. The agreement allows the US-based entity to receive a portion of revenue generated through its technology and data services.
The deal represents a milestone for ByteDance and TikTok, ensuring the platform remains available in the US while addressing political and regulatory concerns. Trump has credited TikTok with boosting his profile, noting that he has more than 16 million followers on the app and attributing part of his 2024 reelection success to its reach. The White House itself launched an official TikTok account in August to engage with the platform’s users.
Experts say the venture could serve as a model for how Chinese tech companies navigate regulatory scrutiny abroad, maintaining access to key markets while ceding operational control to meet national security and political requirements. For TikTok, the deal marks a compromise between expansion ambitions and compliance with US regulatory expectations, ensuring continuity in one of its most critical markets.
