BUSINESS

U.S. Joint Venture Agrees to Run TikTok America

PUBLISHED Jan 22, 2026, 8:49 PM ET

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U.S. Joint Venture Agrees to Run TikTok America

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Washington — U.S. and Chinese officials finalized an agreement to create a majority American-owned TikTok joint venture that will operate the app’s U.S. business. ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake while a consortium led by Oracle and Silver Lake will own roughly 80% and manage operations. The new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will serve over 200 million U.S. users and 7.5 million businesses, secure U.S. data, and license the recommendation algorithm for retraining on American data, company filings and statements show. White House sources and multiple outlets confirmed approvals on Thursday. Based on 6 articles reviewed and supporting research.

By Emily Rhodes | JQJO News

Timeline of Events

U.S. government raised national-security concerns about TikTok's Chinese ownership and algorithmic influence.
Negotiations and regulatory pressure led to deadlines and proposals to divest U.S. operations or restructure ownership.
ByteDance agreed to spin out a U.S. entity with non-Chinese investors holding roughly 80% and ByteDance keeping 19.9%.
White House officials and multiple media outlets confirmed that both U.S. and Chinese approvals were obtained.
TikTok announced formation of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC to operate the U.S. business serving over 200 million users.

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Who Benefited

A consortium of primarily American investors led by Oracle and Silver Lake secured majority control of TikTok U.S., positioning them to gain financially and operationally from continued user engagement, advertising revenue, and governance of the U.S. operations.

Who Impacted

ByteDance ceded majority operational control of TikTok U.S., retaining a 19.9% stake and reduced governance influence; U.S. regulators, users, and privacy advocates must now monitor implementation of data and algorithm safeguards under the new structure.

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