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2025-12-18T23:42:48.953Z
- TikTok told employees it had signed an agreement with investors to form a joint venture in the United States, according to an internal memo.
- The move will allow TikTok to operate as an independent entity in the United States, the memo said.
- The Trump administration previously said it had given its blessing to the sale of TikTok to a consortium of investors.
TikTok has struck a deal with a group of investors to form a new joint venture for its U.S. business, according to an internal memo seen by Business Insider.
The deal, which TikTok plans to close in January, comes more than a year after Congress passed legislation that forced its owner ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban because TikTok was considered a company “controlled by a foreign adversary.”
The new U.S. joint venture will operate independently in areas such as U.S. data protection and content recommendation algorithm training, while maintaining connectivity to TikTok's global products and businesses such as e-commerce and advertising, according to a memo from company CEO Shu Chu.
This announcement is the culmination of a long battle for TikTok's survival, which it went dark for a while in the United States in January under sell-or-ban laws.
TikTok and ByteDance have sought relief from the courts, arguing that the law – the Protecting Americans from Foreign Controlled Apps Act – violates the First Amendment. In January, the Supreme Court ruled against TikTok and upheld the no-sale or ban law.
Since then, TikTok has been facing a looming deadline to find a buyer in the US. The future of the app remained in limbo for months as the White House repeatedly extended deadlines and administration officials tried to broker a deal.
In September, President Donald Trump signed decree which approved the sale of TikTok's US division for approximately $14 billion.
Then Trump said that Oracle and Larry Ellison would be participants in the deal, and Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch could also be involved. Vice President J.D. Vance said the buying group will include “four or five world-class investors.”
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment. The White House directed Business Insider to TikTok.
