Originally signed in April by former US President Joe Biden on national security grounds, the TikTok sale-or-ban ultimatum has now been handed off to newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump to enforce. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order postponing the nationwide TikTok ban by 75 days, thereby providing ByteDance, the platform’s China-based owner, extra time to either sell part of its stake or broker an agreement with the administration.
Read more: Donald Trump delays TikTok ban for 75 days, granting ByteDance more time to reach deal
As TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance, the ruse to secure ownership has everyone — users, lawmakers, and buyers, watching closely.
With deadlines looming, here’s a breakdown of the big names rumoured to be circling the platform:
1. Elon Musk
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been at the center of countless tech speculation—and buying TikTok is no exception. As per reports, Chinese government officials considered selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Musk, especially given his improving ties with President Trump, though ByteDance called these reports “pure fiction.”
2. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)
The famous YouTuber tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) that he’d “buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.” Donaldson claimed “so many billionaires” reached out to him, noting they might collectively “pull this off.”
3. Perplexity AI
As per media reports, Perplexity AI submitted an offer to ByteDance to merge the two companies alongside New Capital Partners. This deal purportedly allows many of ByteDance’s current investors to retain their equity stakes, a source familiar with the situation said in a media report.
4. Kevin O’Leary and Frank McCourt
Project Liberty—helmed by billionaire and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt—partnered with “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary. Submitted on January 9, the group’s plan would resructure TikTok to collect less user data. O’Leary told he put forth a $20 billion bid, according to media reports.
5. Bobby Kotick
The former Activision Blizzard CEO is rumoured to have shown interest in TikTok. As per reports, Kotick floated the idea with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and others to help fund a deal.
6. Steve Mnuchin
The former Treasury Secretary said in an earlier media report in March 2024 that he planned to “put together a group” to buy TikTok. In May, he revealed he had approached multiple tech firms, though the TikTok algorithm reportedly remains off-limits in any sale, complicating negotiations.
7. Rumble
The video-sharing platform announced in March 2024 it was “ready to join a consortium with other parties” to acquire TikTok. Neither Rumble nor its CEO, Chris Pavlovski, have publicly detailed how much the offer is worth.
Others
Oracle and Walmart announced in September 2020 the companies had reached a deal to acquire TikTok, but that deal fell through after the Biden administration reportedly stopped it from moving forward to address the app’s potential security risks.
Microsoft had also reportedly offered to buy TikTok from ByteDance in August 2020, but the deal nearly closed before falling apart.
Read more: ‘We thank President Trump’: TikTok announced it’s ‘in the process of restoring service’ in the US