New Joint Venture Takes Control of TikTok US Operations

TikTok has officially completed a major restructuring of its US business, establishing a new joint venture mostly controlled by American investors to comply with recently introduced US national security laws.

Per Variety, the newly formed company, called TikTok USDS Joint Venture, brings TikTok’s US operations under a majority‑American ownership structure after years of political and regulatory pressure over its ties to Chinese parent ByteDance.

As part of the arrangement, ByteDance now holds a minority stake of just under 20% in the new venture, while a group of US and global investors - led by Silver Lake, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi‑state owned investment firm MGX - collectively own the remainder.

The rest of the consortium of investors are: Dell Family Office, the investment firm of Michael Dell, Founder, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies; Vastmere Strategic Investments, an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group; Alpha Wave Partners; Revolution; Merritt Way, controlled and managed by partners of Dragoneer; Via Nova, an affiliate of General Atlantic; Virgo LI, investment arm of a foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner in support of science; and NJJ Capital, the family office of Xavier Niel, a French entrepreneur and pioneer in telecommunications.

The joint venture will also encompass other related apps, including CapCut and Lemon8.

Adam Presser, who previously led TikTok’s US operations and trust and safety teams, has been named Chief Executive Officer of TikTok USDS, with the company’s leadership and board designed to ensure a majority of American control.

Prior to joining TikTok in April 2022, Presser held roles at WarnerMedia, including EVP of WarnerMedia International and head of WarnerMedia China, Australia & New Zealand. Before that he worked at Warner Bros. Entertainment, most recently as SVP of International.

Under the terms of the deal, US user data and key platform safeguards - including algorithm security, content moderation, and data protections - will be governed within the United States, with Oracle responsible for hosting US user data in its cloud infrastructure.

The restructuring comes in response to legislation that threatened a ban on TikTok unless it reduced foreign ownership below specified limits. The new setup is intended to address those national security concerns while allowing the platform to continue operating for its more than 200 million US users.