US venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in TikTok, as part of a proposed deal to divest the platform's US operations from Chinese parent company ByteDance, days before a deadline for the sale of the app.
Andreesen Horowitz is considering partnering with a group of ByteDance’s existing US investors including Susquehanna, KKR, General Atlantic and Coatue for the deal, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources. The group also includes Oracle, which is considered the front-runner to buy TikTok.
Andreessen Horowitz’s co-founder, Marc Andreessen, is a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump, and the company was approached about a potential investment by “TikTok’s advisers and the White House” and is “strongly considering making an investment”, the FT reported.
Private equity firm Blackstone as well as other asset managers are also considering investments in TikTok’s US operations, US media reports said.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump is also expected to meet key administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance – who is leading negotiations over the sale, to consider the proposal for divesting TikTok’s US operations, Bloomberg reported.
The deal would give Oracle a small stake in a new American entity. Oracle would provide security assurances for US data while potentially leaving the app’s algorithm in Chinese hands, Bloomberg cited an earlier proposal as saying.
Shortly after he was sworn in, Mr Trump agreed to exercise an option in the bipartisan legislation that tried to force TikTok's China-based owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform to a US entity, giving the company until April 5 to come up with a solution that would keep the platform running.
The US President had initially supported a ban but reversed course after using the video-sharing platform to make inroads with younger voters during the November election.
While talking to reporters in the Oval Office last week, Mr Trump implied he may ease imminent tariffs on imports from China to secure a deal for the divestment of TikTok before the April 5 ban.
“Every point in tariff is worth more money than TikTok,” he said, floating the idea to reporters. “It sounds like something I would do.”
On Sunday during an interview on board Air Force One, Mr Trump expressed optimism that a deal with ByteDance would be reached.
“We have a lot of potential buyers,” he told reporters. “I'd like to see TikTok remain alive.”
TikTok, which has more than 170 million active users in the US, has repeatedly insisted that US user data is not compromised by ByteDance's China ownership.
