ByteDance valuation hits $500b as TikTok US deal nears: sources

ByteDance, the Beijing-based owner of TikTok, has reached a US$500 billion valuation on the private market as it advances a survival plan in the US, according to sources cited.

This valuation is a sharp rise from US$400 billion earlier in 2025, and follows an agreement to divest TikTok’s US operations into a joint venture controlled by American investors.

The planned entity, called TikTok USDS Joint Venture, will be owned 50% by a consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, with affiliates of ByteDance investors holding 30.1%, and ByteDance keeping a 19.9% stake.

The divestment plan comes as ByteDance faces a US deadline requiring TikTok’s sale or ban by January 23, 2026, due to national security concerns.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

ByteDance’s US$500B value hinges on TikTok U.S. and AI, revenue split unclear

2024 revenue reached US$155 billion 1. TikTok U.S. generated US$27 billion, or 17% of total and 80% of international sales 1.
Margins fell from 27.7% to 21.3% as up to US$20 billion went into AI infrastructure 1. The spend included US$7 billion on Nvidia chips to compete with DeepSeek, a Chinese AI maker known for cost-efficient large language models 1. Doubao, the assistant app, reached 157 million monthly active users in August 2025 and surpassed DeepSeek 1.
Internal marks value the company at two times revenue, while secondary markets, private venues for pre‑IPO shares, price it at 1.4 times 1. SCMP put the value at US$500 billion, a 25% premium to US$400 billion 1. The premium ties to hopes that a planned USDS joint venture lowers U.S. security risk while preserving cash from TikTok’s US$27 billion U.S. business, with revenue-sharing terms still undisclosed 1.

Vendors win work as TikTok USDS builds for U.S. rules

USDS runs functions that access protected U.S. user data and is hiring in compliance, including a Compliance Training & Awareness Analyst in New York 2 3.
The unit works with HaystackID for eDiscovery and incident response, plus OnDefend for offensive security and risk management 2. Vendors in data governance, access control, audit, plus trust & safety should watch RFPs as TikTok builds U.S. security operations apart from ByteDance’s China infrastructure 1. This opens procurement in a business that must prove independence from foreign control 1.