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TikTok could return to the US with a new app owned by a different group of investors before President Trump’s Sept. 17 deadline, The Information reports.
The report arrives shortly after President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that a new deal for the sale of TikTok was “pretty much” in place. According to The Information, the deal would see a group of non-Chinese investors, including Oracle, take a majority stake in TikTok’s US business, while the current majority owner, ByteDance, would be given a minority stake.
A law signed by President Biden last year required the ByteDance-owned platform to divest by Jan. 19, 2025, or face a US ban. President Trump has delayed the ban three times, first by 90 days, then by 75 days, and then by 90 days again.
The new rumored deal requires approval from the Chinese government; Trump has said he is “confident” about it.
TikTok’s staff has also been preparing a new version of the app for US app stores, the report adds. The new app, internally dubbed M2, would reportedly be released on Sept. 5, with the old app being sunset by March 2026.
The names of new owners, apart from Oracle, are still unclear. Oracle is a key part of the $500 billion Stargate deal and has been linked to the TikTok sale multiple times previously. AI startup Perplexity has also shown interest in buying the social media app and open-sourcing its For You feed, but it likely doesn't have enough money.