After years of political pressure, legal threats, and national security scrutiny, TikTok has reached a landmark agreement to hand significant control of its U.S. business to an American investor group, effectively resolving the long-running standoff with the U.S. government.
According to an internal memo sent by Shou Chew, and first reported by Axios, the arrangement will create a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which will oversee TikTok’s operations in the United States.
Under the deal, a consortium of American investors, including cloud giant Oracle, tech-focused private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi–based AI investment firm MGX, will collectively own 45% of the U.S. operation. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will retain a stake of just under 20%, according to the memo.
The newly formed joint venture will be responsible for some of TikTok’s most sensitive functions in the U.S., including:
- Data protection
- Algorithm security
- Content moderation
- Software assurance
Oracle will serve as TikTok’s “trusted security partner,” tasked with auditing and validating compliance with U.S. national security requirements once the transaction is completed.
The deal is expected to close on January 22, 2026.
The structure of the agreement closely mirrors language from an executive order signed by Donald Trump in September, which laid out a framework allowing TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. if control was shifted to American ownership and oversight.
While details had previously leaked, with CNBC reporting that Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX were the likely investors, this is the first time ByteDance has formally confirmed the structure and ownership breakdown of the deal.
For years, U.S. lawmakers have argued that TikTok’s Chinese ownership posed national security risks, citing concerns over data access and potential influence by the Chinese government. TikTok, for its part, has consistently denied those claims, while pledging to comply with U.S. law to keep the app available to its more than 150 million American users.