Video-sharing platform TikTok has established a new joint venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, aimed at ensuring the continuation of its operations in the United States amid longstanding concerns over its Chinese ownership.
The new entity is structured to be majority-owned by American investors and is expected to serve more than 200 million users and approximately 7.5 million businesses across the country. The arrangement is designed to strengthen safeguards around user data protection, algorithm security, and content moderation.
Under the agreement, a consortium of US-based investors, including Silver Lake and Oracle, alongside Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence investment firm MGX, will each hold 15 per cent stakes in the venture. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, will retain a 19.9 per cent ownership share.
As part of the deal, Oracle will host US user data within its secure cloud infrastructure. The platform’s cybersecurity systems will also be subject to independent audits by third-party experts, according to details of the arrangement.
Former US President Donald Trump welcomed the development, describing it as a success and claiming credit for helping to broker the deal. In a post on his Truth Social platform late Thursday, Trump said the agreement would keep TikTok operating in the US under American control.
“I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok,” Trump wrote, adding that the platform would now be owned by what he described as “great American patriots and investors.”
Trump also expressed appreciation to Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying Beijing’s approval was instrumental to finalising the agreement.
The creation of the joint venture comes amid heightened scrutiny of foreign-owned technology firms in the US, with lawmakers and regulators raising concerns over national security, data privacy, and foreign influence. TikTok has consistently maintained that it does not share US user data with the Chinese government.
With the new ownership and operational framework, TikTok aims to address regulatory concerns while maintaining uninterrupted service for its US user base.
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