New Delhi: TikTok, the hugely popular social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is under pressure to sell its U.S. operations due to national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership. After briefly being banned on January 19, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump gave TikTok a two-month extension to find a buyer. If no deal is made by then, the app could face another ban. The sale could be worth close to $50 billion, which is no surprise since TikTok has about 170 million monthly active users in the U.S. which plays a big role ByteDance, getting maximum traffic acquisition.
Several well-known names and companies are in the run to buy TikTok:
- MrBeast Also known as Jimmy Donaldson a Well-known YouTuber and one of the richest content creators in the world is reportedly talking to investor groups about buying TikTok. One of these groups is led by tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley. But so far, MrBeast hasn’t locked in any deals.
- Kevin O’Leary and McCourt: The “Shark Tank” star and billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary has teamed up with another billionaire, McCourt, to bid for TikTok. Interestingly, they’re not asking for TikTok’s secret algorithm, which might make their bid more appealing to ByteDance and the Chinese government.
- Elon Musk: The world’s richest man, with a net worth of $440 billion, is reportedly a favorite buyer in Trump’s eyes. Since Musk already owns X (formerly Twitter) and has good connections with Chinese officials, he might have a smoother path to approval from both sides.
- Larry Ellison: The Oracle chairman, who’s known for being a Trump supporter, is also in the mix. Oracle already handles TikTok’s U.S. data storage, so this connection might give Ellison an edge.
Trump has suggested that whoever buys TikTok should let the U.S. government own a small piece of it. But it’s unclear how that would work legally or whether China would even agree to it.
Here are a few other big names being talked about as possible buyers:
- Meta (Facebook/Instagram): Meta has the tools to grow TikTok with its advertising power. But with Meta already being watched for antitrust issues, it’s unlikely this would happen.
- Google (YouTube): Google’s experience with YouTube makes it a good fit for managing TikTok, but, like Meta, antitrust concerns could get in the way.
- Amazon: TikTok and Amazon already work together on e-commerce features, but it’s unclear if Amazon is seriously interested in buying it.
- Microsoft: Microsoft tried to buy TikTok back in 2020 but hasn’t shown much interest in restarting those talks now.
- Netflix: While Netflix denied wanting to buy TikTok in the past, the idea of reaching a younger audience might make them reconsider.
With the clock ticking on ByteDance to find a buyer, there’s a lot of interest but also a lot of challenges. It’s anyone’s guess how this will play out!
