The short-video application, which serves more than 170 million regular users in the United States, has faced extended discussions since earlier efforts to resolve its status.
"We have signed agreements with investors regarding a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, enabling over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew informed employees in an internal memorandum.
The new entity, named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will be structured with 50% ownership held by a group of new investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, each contributing 15%. An additional 30.1% will be owned by affiliates of certain existing ByteDance investors, while ByteDance will hold 19.9%.
Upon completion, the joint venture will function as an independent organization responsible for managing U.S. user data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance. Global TikTok entities in the U.S. will oversee product interoperability and select commercial operations, such as e-commerce, advertising, and marketing.
Oracle will act as the security partner, conducting audits and ensuring compliance, including secure storage of sensitive U.S. user data in a domestic cloud environment managed by Oracle.
The transaction is anticipated to finalize in late January, allowing continued availability of the application for American users within the broader international community.
