The new TikTok deal in the United States does not simply swap one owner for another, it slices the platform into a carefully balanced structure that spreads power across American investors and its Chinese parent. The most striking details are the precise ownership percentages and the way control over data, algorithms, and day to day operations has been separated, revealing a political compromise as much as a corporate transaction.
As I unpack the numbers behind the joint venture, a picture emerges of a company that is being localized for Washington without being fully severed from Beijing. The result is a U.S. TikTok that will be majority influenced by American money and infrastructure partners, yet still tethered to ByteDance for some of its most valuable technology and global strategy.
The basic split: who owns what in the new TikTok US venture
The core of the agreement is a new U.S. joint venture that will control the American version of the TikTok app, with ownership deliberately divided between domestic investors and ByteDance. Under the arrangement, the U.S. TikTok app will sit inside a fresh entity, and 50% of that company will be owned by a consortium of American backers while the remaining 50% will stay with ByteDance, a structure that tries to satisfy national security demands without forcing a total divestiture. That 50% figure is not a rough estimate, it is a negotiated threshold that gives U.S. investors parity inside the new vehicle while still recognizing ByteDance as a co owner of the American business.
Within that 50% American bloc, the deal carves out a prominent role for a small group of technology and private equity players. Half of the new TikTok U.S. joint venture will be owned by a group of investors that includes Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, a cluster that combines cloud infrastructure, financial firepower, and political connections in Washington. The remaining American ownership will be spread among other U.S. shareholders, but the presence of Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX at the center of that 50% stake underscores how the White House and TikTok have tried to anchor the platform inside a politically acceptable corporate circle, as reflected in the detailed breakdown of half of the new TikTok U.S. joint venture.
The 45% surprise: Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX’s combined stake
The headline number that has startled many observers is not the 50% American share, but the concentration of power inside that bloc. A leaked internal memo describes how the deal, expected to close in late January, will give Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX a combined 45% stake in the U.S. joint venture, leaving only a narrow slice of equity for other domestic investors. That 45% figure means this trio will sit just shy of outright majority control of the entire U.S. TikTok entity, even though ByteDance still holds half of the company on the other side of the ledger.
In practical terms, a combined 45% stake for Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX positions them as the dominant voice among American shareholders, with the ability to shape board decisions, appoint key executives, and negotiate directly with ByteDance on operational questions. The memo that lays out that 45% number also stresses that the U.S. joint venture is being built to ring fence certain business areas, limiting how far the new owners can reach into global operations even as they gain significant influence over the American app. Those constraints, and the precise equity split, are spelled out in the internal description of how Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX hold 45% of the U.S. joint venture.
Oracle’s dual role: shareholder and data gatekeeper
Oracle is not just another investor in this structure, it is the company that will sit closest to TikTok’s most sensitive asset, the data of U.S. users. Earlier negotiations already positioned Oracle to take charge of TikTok’s U.S. operations and provide cloud services to store user data, and that operational role has now been folded into the joint venture’s architecture. By combining a large equity stake with control over the cloud environment, Oracle becomes both an owner and the primary technical custodian of the American platform.
This dual role is central to the political logic of the deal, because it allows the White House to argue that U.S. user information is being held inside a domestic system operated by a trusted enterprise software company. Oracle’s cloud infrastructure will host the data and support the app’s U.S. operations, while its board representation through the joint venture stake gives it a say in how those systems are governed. The arrangement is described in detail in the explanation that Oracle will take charge of TikTok’s U.S. operations and provide cloud services to store user data.
ByteDance’s lingering power: algorithms and global strategy
Even with half of the U.S. joint venture in American hands and Oracle embedded in the infrastructure, ByteDance is not walking away from its crown jewel. The Chinese parent will retain 50% of the new U.S. entity and, more importantly, will continue to control key parts of the broader TikTok business that sit outside the American perimeter. Internal communications to staff explain that the proposed structure of the deal leaves certain core technologies and global functions under ByteDance’s umbrella, even as the U.S. app is spun into a separate joint venture.
That means the famous recommendation algorithm, global product roadmap, and international monetization strategies are likely to remain heavily influenced by ByteDance, with the U.S. venture licensing or interfacing with those systems rather than owning them outright. The memo to employees that describes the arrangement emphasizes that the new U.S. owners will not control every aspect of the platform, and that some business areas will continue to be managed from outside the United States. Those limits are captured in the analysis of how the new U.S. owners will not control key parts of the business.
How the joint venture is structured inside the wider TikTok empire
The U.S. joint venture is not being created in a vacuum, it is being slotted into a complex global corporate structure that already includes multiple regional entities and holding companies. Internal descriptions of the deal explain that the assets will be split so that the American business is carved out into a distinct company, while other regions remain under existing ByteDance controlled vehicles. That new U.S. company will also take a direct ownership stake of around 20 percent in certain shared assets, giving it a financial interest in parts of the broader TikTok ecosystem without handing over full control.
Operationally, U.S. platform operations will be managed by a system operated by Oracle, which will sit alongside ByteDance’s global infrastructure rather than replacing it entirely. This creates a layered model in which the U.S. joint venture owns and runs the American app, holds a roughly 20 percent stake in some shared assets, and relies on Oracle’s systems for day to day functioning, while ByteDance continues to coordinate other regions and core technologies. The description of how the assets will be split and U.S. operations managed by a system operated by Oracle lays out that multi layer structure.
What Chew told staff and what China has not said
Inside TikTok, the deal has been framed to employees as a way to preserve the app’s presence in the United States while addressing political pressure from Washington. In a memo to staff, chief executive Chew explained that the company had signed agreements to create a new U.S. joint venture and that some, but not total, control over the American business would shift to domestic investors. Chew’s memo Thursday did not mention China’s opinion on the transaction, a notable omission given that Beijing has previously signaled concerns about forced technology transfers involving Chinese companies.The same internal communication stressed that certain rights and assets would be retained by ByteDance, and that the terms outlined in the agreements were designed so that the new U.S. joint venture and ByteDance have no operational relationship in specific areas. That language is meant to reassure regulators in the United States that the American app can function independently, while also signaling to Chinese authorities that ByteDance is not surrendering its entire global platform. The balance Chew tried to strike is evident in the description of how Chew’s memo Thursday did not mention China and set terms so some rights will be retained by ByteDance.
From political threat to American led spin off
The joint venture is the culmination of a long running political standoff in Washington over TikTok’s Chinese ownership and the security of U.S. user data. After months of pressure, TikTok agreed to sell its American business to a U.S. led joint venture, a move that effectively spins off the U.S. unit while keeping it connected to the global platform through ownership and technology ties. That spin off is being framed as a way to keep the app available to American users while addressing concerns raised by lawmakers and regulators about foreign influence.
The description of the transaction emphasizes that TikTok is finally spinning off its U.S. unit into a structure where American investors hold significant stakes and domestic partners run critical infrastructure. For workers and creators, the message is that the app will continue to operate in the United States, but under a new corporate roof that is more closely aligned with Washington’s expectations. The political and business context for that shift is captured in the summary that TikTok is finally spinning off its U.S. unit to a U.S.-led joint venture.
Why the ownership math matters for control
On paper, the ownership math looks straightforward: 50% of the U.S. joint venture in American hands, 50% with ByteDance, and 45% of the whole company concentrated in the trio of Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX. In practice, those numbers will determine who sets policy on content moderation, data access, and commercial partnerships inside the United States. With Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX holding 45% and other American investors filling out the remaining 5% of the U.S. stake, that group will likely dominate board committees and have a decisive voice in appointing executives who oversee the American app.
At the same time, ByteDance’s 50% share and continued control over key technologies mean that strategic decisions about the algorithm, cross border features, and global branding will still require cooperation between Beijing based leadership and the U.S. joint venture board. The result is a structure where no single party can act unilaterally on the most sensitive issues, forcing a kind of corporate power sharing that mirrors the geopolitical tensions surrounding the platform. The fact that the TikTok sale is officially happening with a consortium of American investors set to take a large stake, while some rights will be retained by ByteDance, is laid out in the description of how the TikTok sale is officially happening and some rights will be retained by ByteDance.
What regulators and users will watch next
Regulators in Washington will now focus less on the headline of a sale and more on how the joint venture operates in practice, especially around data access and content decisions. The fact that 50% of the U.S. TikTok app will be owned by a consortium of American investors, and that Oracle will run the cloud systems, gives officials a clearer line of accountability if they want to audit security practices or demand changes to how the platform handles sensitive information. At the same time, ByteDance’s ongoing role will keep questions alive about whether Chinese authorities could still exert indirect influence through their oversight of the parent company.
For users, the most immediate concern is whether the app will feel any different, from the For You feed to the way political content is treated in an election year. The ownership structure suggests that changes will be gradual and mostly behind the scenes, as the new board and management teams settle into their roles and negotiate with regulators. The formal description of how, under the agreement, the U.S. TikTok app will be controlled by a new joint venture, 50% of which will be owned by a consortium of American investors and 50% by ByteDance, underscores that the platform is entering a new phase rather than ending outright, as detailed in the explanation that under the agreement the U.S. TikTok app will be controlled by a new joint venture.
More from MorningOverview