For a brief period last weekend, TikTok was blacked out and then restored across the U.S. While the future of the social media platform remains murky, plans for an American entity to acquire TikTok appear to be narrowing to scope.
While several individuals and companies have thrown their hats into the ring with interest, President Donald Trump recently expressed his support for two tech giants: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle. Oracle, a software company, hosts most of TikTok’s servers in the US.
General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford, who sits on the board of directors for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, told Axios this week that a deal will be reached to save TikTok in the US
“We will continue with it, as soon as maybe the end of the week in terms of negotiating what can work … The Chinese government, the U.S. government and the company and the board all need to be involved in this conversation,” Ford said.
More:ByteDance CEO Bill Ford says a deal is coming to save TikTok in the US
However, Musk and Ellison aren’t the only ones eyeing TikTok. Here’s who else has expressed interest in buying the platform.
Trump proposes 50% US ownership
On Sunday, Trump told supporters at a pre-inauguration rally that he would like to see the US own 50% of TikTok.
“We have no choice. We have to save a lot of jobs,” Trump told the rally. “We don’t want to give our business to China. We don’t want to give our business to other people.”
Trump said the government would not provide money but would approve the deal.
MrBeast joins consortium of investors for cash offering
A consortium of investors, led by Employer.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley, announced on Sunday that it has made a formal, all-cash offer to buy TikTok’s US assets.
According to a news release from law firm Paul Hastings, which is advising the group of investors, James “Jimmy” Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is part of this consortium.
YouTube’s most popular creator, Donaldson humorously tweeted about buying the platform a week before the ban. But after the post gained traction, Donaldson tweeted back that “so many billionaires” had reached out to him. As of Wednesday, the content creator had “TikTok’s new CEO?” in his TikTok bio.
Employer.com declined to comment on Donaldson’s reported involvement, and MrBeast’s team did not immediately respond for comment about the offer when contacted by USA TODAY on Wednesday. The consortium’s offer has not been publicly distributed.
Project Liberty made the TikTok bid
Project Liberty, an organization led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, made an offer to buy TikTok’s US assets from ByteDance earlier this month. Liberty Project President Tomicah Tillemann said in a statement that the organization would not publicly disclose the amount of the bid.
The Project Liberty consortium also includes Kevin O’Leary, aka “Mr. Wonderful,” an investor and host of “Shark Tank.”
A possible merger of Perplexity AI
Perplexity AI, a US-based search engine, made an offer on Saturday for ByteDance to join TikTok’s US assets, according to Reuters. Instead of a sale, the merger would result in a new entity.
Perplexity AI did not immediately respond for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on Thursday.
Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision, has previously expressed interest in the platform
Bobby Kotick, former CEO of video game company Activision, is another potential buyer. Kotick previously spoke with ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming about buying the platform, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2024. Today, Kotick co-chairs the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit he founded that provides grants to charities that help veterans.
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, may want another shot
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, also expressed an interest in buying TikTok in the past.
In 2020, when TikTok was under pressure from Trump, who at the time demanded a ban on TikTok, Walmart and Microsoft proposed an offer to buy the US assets of the platform. However, Trump’s planned ban fell apart, and with it, Walmart and Microsoft’s bid.
In 2023, McMillon hosted Yiming in Bentonville, Arkansas, The New York Post reported, citing sources close to the situation. However, neither McMillon nor Walmart have come out and said they would make an offer recently.
Can Microsoft bid again?
Although Microsoft has not publicly expressed interest in buying TikTok since the joint bid with Walmart, the tech company could make a bid again, some tech experts believe.
“If Microsoft makes a bid to buy TikTok again, it could help the company expand its social media footprint, but it could also draw the attention of federal regulators,” wrote reporter Chris Morris at Inc.com. “That said, Trump did not oppose the acquisition when he pushed for the sale of TikTok during his first administration.”
Video streaming platform Rumble has previously expressed interest
Rumble, a video streaming platform similar to YouTube and Twitch, offered to buy TikTok in March 2024, according to a letter shared by Rumble to X.
“Rumble is ready to join a consortium with other parties seeking to acquire and operate TikTok within the United States,” the letter said. Specifically, we are ready to serve as a cloud technology partner.
Neither Rumble nor its CEO Chris Pavlovski disclosed details about the offer.
Why did TikTok go dark?
TikTok became unavailable for a short period of time from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon following federal legislation that former President Joe Biden signed into law last year. The legislation required ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell the platform by January 19, 2025. If ByteDance failed to do so, TikTok would become unavailable in the US
Although ByteDance did not take down TikTok in time, President Donald Trump assured US companies — web hosting services and app stores — on Sunday, a day before his inauguration, that they would face no consequences for restoring TikTok. .
Then on Monday, Trump issued an executive order intended to suspend the ban for 75 days. However, the legalities of the order remain unclear.
As of Wednesday afternoon, TikTok is accessible through the mobile app and website. However, the platform had not returned to the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
Contributed by: Francesca Chambers, Mike Snider, Sudiksha Kochi
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.