TikTok is officially staying in the United States. Just before the Trump administration’s final deadline, parent company ByteDance finalized a massive deal to sell off the majority of its U.S. business. ByteDance will now hold only a 20% stake, while a group of international and American investors takes over the remaining 80%.
Leading the charge are Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX—an investment firm owned by the United Arab Emirates. Each of these three firms now owns 15% of the new entity. Other backers include the private investment firm of Dell’s CEO. This agreement puts an end to a long-running saga that kept millions of American users wondering if their favorite app would suddenly disappear.
The new setup focuses heavily on national security. All American user data will live within Oracle’s secure cloud environment right here in the U.S. Furthermore, the company plans to retrain TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm using only U.S. data to ensure it remains independent. This new entity will also take full control over content moderation for U.S. users.
TikTok promised that the transition won’t ruin the fun. Users can still watch international content, and American creators will still reach global audiences. The same security protections will also extend to other popular apps in the portfolio, such as the video editor CapCut and the social app Lemon8.
A new seven-member board of directors will run the business. Most of these leaders are Americans, including executives from Oracle and Silver Lake. TikTok’s current CEO, Shou Chew, will also serve on the board and continue to lead the company.
The deal marks a huge turning point. For years, the app sat on the edge of a total ban due to its ties to China. Now, with a new ownership structure and U.S.-based oversight, TikTok has secured a permanent home in the American market.
