It’s a done deal.
TikTok has formally established a new US-majority joint venture to comply with an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump in September, which allows it to remain operational in the US.
The structure aims to address longstanding national security concerns raised by US lawmakers, while keeping the app operational for more than 200 million US users and 7.5 million businesses.
The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will function as an independent entity with a seven-member board that includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew, according to a press release late Thursday (January 22).
Adam Presser will serve as CEO of the US joint venture. He previously held roles at TikTok US Data Security, TikTok and WarnerMedia. He joined TikTok in April 2022, and by 2023, he became Head of Operations at TikTok after serving as Chief of Staff.
Will Farrell takes the role of Chief Security Officer of TikTok USDS Joint Venture, overseeing the joint venture’s comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program. He previously held roles at TikTok US Data Security, TikTok and Booz Allen Hamilton.
The new arrangement keeps ByteDance as a minority stakeholder with a 19.9% holding, while three managing investors — Silver Lake, Oracle, and MGX — each control 15% stakes.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In September, Vice President JD Vance said the proposed transaction would value TikTok’s US operations at “around $14 billion.”
Reuters noted that the price tag is “far below some analyst estimates”.
Additional investors in the consortium include Dell Family Office, controlled by Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell; Vastmere Strategic Investments, affiliated with Susquehanna International Group; Alpha Wave Partners; Revolution; Merritt Way, linked to Dragoneer; Via Nova, affiliated with General Atlantic; Virgo LI, the investment arm of a foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner; and NJJ Capital, the family office of French telecommunications entrepreneur Xavier Niel.
The joint venture’s mandate centers on securing US user data and the platform’s algorithm within Oracle’s domestic cloud infrastructure. Third-party experts will audit and certify the JV’s cybersecurity program, which will adhere to standards including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) CSF and 800-53 and ISO 27001 as well as the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Security Requirements for Restricted Transactions.
The rigid data protection policies are in response to lawmakers’ concerns about potential Chinese government access to American user information.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture’s content recommendation algorithm will be retrained, tested, and updated using US user data, then secured within Oracle‘s cloud. Additionally, the JV will employ software assurance protocols to secure US apps and cover ongoing source code review and validation.
The security framework will extend beyond TikTok to cover CapCut, Lemon8, and other apps and websites the JV operates in the US market.
The joint venture will hold decision-making authority over trust and safety policies and content moderation.
While it operates independently, an interoperability framework allows US users to reach global audiences and enables TikTok’s US entities to manage commercial functions including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing.
The board includes TikTok’s global CEO Shou Chew, alongside TPG Global Senior Advisor Timothy Dattels, Susquehanna International Group Managing Director Mark Dooley, Silver Lake Co-CEO Egon Durban, and Kenneth Glueck, currently serving as Executive Vice President in the Office of the Chief Executive Officer at Oracle.
DXC Technology’s President and CEO Raul Fernandez will serve as an Independent Director and Chair of the board’s Security Committee, while David Scott, Chief Strategy and Safety Officer at MGX, also sits on the board and its Security Committee. Fernandez previously served on the CIA’s External Advisory Board and on the boards of Broadcom and GameStop, while Glueck previously held senior policy roles at the American Electronics Association and on Capitol Hill.
The joint venture marks a sigh of relief for TikTok, which has long fought to keep its business in the US. Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden, TikTok is required to sell its US operations or face an effective ban on operating in the US.
Originally, the deadline for TikTok was set in January 2025, forcing the app offline briefly for American users. US President Donald Trump brought the app back online during his opening days in office, granting a 75-day pause to let potential American buyers put together offers.
When talks stalled, Trump pushed the deadline back (after pushing it back multiple times) to December 16, 2025, and ordered the Department of Justice not to enforce the law until today (Janaury 23, 2026) in order to give time for the deal to be finalized.
Ahead of the joint venture announcement, Business Insider recently reported that TikTok is dividing its US staff between two separate entities. Some US staff received notices earlier this month that they won’t join the new joint venture and instead, they’ll work for a separate entity called TT Commerce & Global Services LLC that remains under ByteDance ownership.
Trump welcomed the news, thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping for “approving the deal.”
“He could have gone the other way, but didn’t, and is appreciated for his decision,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Canada, a federal court has suspended the government’s order to shut down TikTok’s business operations, forcing Industry Minister Mélanie Joly to conduct a new national security review of the platform. The order would have prevented access to TikTok for 14 million users in Canada.
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