Oracle’s stake in TikTok US joint venture worth about $2b

A regulatory filing showed Oracle’s stake in TikTok’s US joint venture is worth about US$2 billion.

Under the deal, US and global investors own 80.1% of TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC while ByteDance retains 19.9%.

Each of the venture’s three managing investors, Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, holds a 15% stake, and Adam Presser was appointed CEO in January.

The agreement follows years of political pressure that began in August 2020, when President Donald Trump sought to ban the app.

It also comes after a law passed in April 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell its US assets by January 2025, a measure upheld by the Supreme Court.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

ByteDance retains IP despite the US joint venture

The deal is not a clean break. ByteDance keeps ownership of the core algorithm’s intellectual property 1.
The US entity runs a copy of the algorithm, retrained only on American user data. A former Treasury official called it a “franchise deal” rather than a real divestment 2.
A lawsuit now challenges the setup, arguing it still fails the requirement that “no operational relationships” remain with ByteDance 3 4.
Advertising and e-commerce stay with TikTok’s existing U.S. entities under TikTok Global, not the security-focused joint venture 5.

TikTok’s US deal sets a template for a splintered global internet

The joint venture model offers a path for other Chinese tech firms to operate in the US while keeping their most valuable intellectual property 6.
It echoes China’s earlier approach that pushed foreign companies like Amazon Web Services into joint ventures to enter its market 6.
For Oracle, the agreement shifts it from cloud supplier to managing investor and security partner, with an equity stake in a large consumer app 7.
That national security role could lift Oracle’s profile, supporting cloud sales in regulated fields like healthcare and finance 7.