Following years of legislative pressure and intense scrutiny over data privacy, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has finalized the restructuring of its American operations. The move was necessitated by a 2024 U.S. law mandating that the popular video app separate its U.S. arm from Chinese ownership to address concerns regarding foreign control and potential data access by Beijing.
The restructuring has established a separate American entity, “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.” This new body independently manages U.S. content moderation, oversees data protection protocols, handles software controls, and ensures algorithm security. While this new venture continues to license the core recommendation algorithm from ByteDance, the ownership structure has radically changed.
Under the new agreement, ByteDance retains only a 19.9% minority stake. The remaining share’approximately 80%’is now controlled by non-Chinese investors.
A managing investor group comprising three major players’Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX’holds a significant chunk of the company, with each firm taking a 15% stake for a total of 45% of the U.S. business.
Here is a breakdown of the key players now controlling TikTok’s U.S. destiny.
The Managing Trio (45% Stake)
Oracle Oracle, a titan in database and cloud computing, has long been involved in the saga of TikTok’s U.S. operations having previously attempted to acquire the platform. The company already provides the cloud infrastructure hosting U.S. user data. Under the new joint venture, Oracle’s role is formalized as the primary security partner. It is tasked with auditing TikTok’s compliance with U.S. security mandates, managing data storage, and overseeing any updates made to the content recommendation algorithm. The company’s leadership includes executive chairman Larry Ellison, a noted billionaire with ties to Donald Trump.
MGX MGX is an investment firm based in the United Arab Emirates with a specific focus on artificial intelligence, data centers, and semiconductors. The firm was established by Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, and G42, an Emirati AI company. MGX’s significant stake suggests it will have influence over the strategic direction of TikTok’s AI capabilities. The firm is deeply embedded in the global AI landscape, backing major players such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI. Furthermore, MGX is participating alongside Oracle in a massive $100 billion AI data center initiative recently announced by Donald Trump.
Silver Lake Silver Lake is a leading U.S. private equity firm known for heavy investments in the technology sector, with a portfolio that has included names like Tesla, Dell Technologies, Airbnb, and Twitter. Its role in the new TikTok entity is viewed as primarily strategic and financial, providing capital and expertise to guide the platform’s growth. Silver Lake has existing ties to its fellow investor MGX; it has been an investor in G42 since 2021 and partnered with MGX on the acquisition of the chip company Altera.
Other Notable Investors
Rounding out the ownership group is a varied list of prominent venture capital firms and family offices:
- Dell Family Office: The investment arm of Michael Dell.
- Vastmere Strategic Investments: An affiliate of Susquehanna International Group (SIG), owned by billionaire Jeff Yass.
- Alpha Wave Partners: A global investment firm involved with companies like SpaceX.
- Virgo LI: The investment vehicle associated with early tech investor Yuri Milner.
- Revolution: The venture capital firm founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case.
- NJJ Capital: The family office of French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel.
- Merritt Way: Managed by partners of the San Francisco-based Dragoneer Investment Group.
- Via Nova: An affiliate of General Atlantic.
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