• Rumours bubbled to the surface at the weekend that Oracle was in discussions to buy TikTok.
• President Donald Trump noted that there were negotiations regarding the sale of the platform but not with Oracle.
• AI firm Perplexity AI is reportedly in discussions to purchase TikTok under a new entity and give the US government 50 percent of that entity.

Since, and even before, President Donald Trump provided what could best be described as a stay of execution for TikTok, there have been rumours about the supposed sale of the social platform. As you may be aware, ByteDance either needs to sell TikTok – including its algorithm and other related tech – to a US company or face a ban.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order intended to give his administration more time to decide what threat – if any – TikTok posed to US citizens. This was followed by suggestions that ByteDance should give the US 50 percent of the company as well as 50 percent of its value.

Before last week rumours suggested that Elon Musk and Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, were among those reaching for their wallets. Now it seems that two more names have been tossed into the ring namely, Oracle and Microsoft who according to reports may be working together to secure the platform. From what we can tell, Oracle is heading this drive with Microsoft joining a raft of other outside investors.

Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025

This rumour that Oracle wants to buy TikTok may hold some water based purely on the fact that TikTok and Oracle have worked together before on Project Texas. Here, Oracle assisted in migrating and storing the data of US citizens on US soil.

However, the rumours may not be valid at all if Trump is to be believed. When asked whether he was putting a deal together with Oracle, Trump told Reuters, “No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days. If we can save TikTok, I think it would be a good thing.”

President Trump wasn’t a fan of TikTok, but seems to have changed his tune following his election win last year.

Another name being floated around regarding a sale of TikTok is Perplexity AI. As reported by AP, the AI firm has presented a proposal to ByteDance that would give the US government 50 percent ownership of a new entity that would control TikTok.

That ownership would only kick in after an IPO of at least $300 billion is launched. It gets strangers as despite being an owners, the US government would have no voting power and no seat on the company board. The US government would seemingly be a silent partner in this new, unnamed firm.

Another name being floated as a potential buyer for TikTok is investor and star of reality TV show Kevin O’Leary. The businessman has joined Project Liberty’s The People’s Bid for TikTok.

“We’ve built a clean, American-made tech stack and continue to be the only viable bidder that can offer a seamless transition for everyone on TikTok without the existing algorithm. With the addition of Kevin and his countless followers to our bid, The People’s Bid enters a new phase,” Project Liberty said in a statement earlier this month.

It’s not clear at this stage who TikTok’s new owner will be, if ByteDance wants to sell at all. The company spent the last month before the ban trying to get the law that would force a sale overturned by the US Supreme Court. That bid failed and TikTok would have been banned had it not been for Trump promising to prevent the ban.

The social network has had enough time to shop for potential buyers and hasn’t. While it may have changed its tune in the last few weeks, we somehow doubt that ByteDance is going to sacrifice an estimated $63.3 billion in revenue to appease one of its markets that accounts for just 12 percent of that revenue. Keep in mind that TikTok has said once before that it would rather exit the market than sell its business.

The fact is that while there are rumours swirling about a sale, until there are statements from ByteDance and one of the bidders above, the fate of TikTok in the US is still an uncertainty.

[Image – Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]