• TikTok U.S. will be sold to a majority-American joint venture including Oracle, Silver Lake, and the UAE’s MGX.
• The new entity will operate independently, controlling U.S. data protection, content moderation, and algorithm security with a seven-member board.
• ByteDance will license its AI recommendation algorithm to the U.S. entity, securing operations with Oracle while retaining a 19.9% stake.

TikTok

TikTok, a social media giant,  has struck a deal to sell its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by a group of investors, majority American. This includes Oracle, Silver Lake Management, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, which will each gain 15% ownership. 

Upon closing, the US joint venture will operate as an independent entity. It will control data protection, content moderation, and algorithm security in the country. Moreover, the deal is expected to close on January 22, 2026. 

Under the arrangement, Oracle, Silver Lake, and the UAE’s MGX will each gain 15%  ownership. The remainder is divided into 30.1% held by affiliates of existing investors of ByteDance and 19.9% will be retained by ByteDance. Additionally, the new entity will be governed by a new seven-member majority-American board of directors,

Algorithms 

The deal outlines that ByteDance is expected to license its AI recommendation technology to the newly established US TikTok entity. The entity will use the existing algorithm to program a new system on US data that is secured by Oracle. Furthermore, this is significant because ByteDance’s algorithms are central to TikTok’s business. 

Bloomberg reports that Chinese regulators have yet to announce where they will approve the transaction. However, the news giant expects that once the deal is finalized, it will resolve a persistent issue in US-China relations. This signals progress in broader negotiations between the two nations.

Bottom line: The TikTok U.S. sale creates a new independent entity, with ByteDance retaining a minority stake and investor ownership established.