TikTok has signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, ensuring the company can continue operating in the United States, according to an internal memo sent to employees by CEO Shou Zi Chew on Thursday.

The deal is a major step toward resolving years of uncertainty about the short video app's future in the U.S. since August 2020, when then President Donald Trump first tried unsuccessfully to ban the app that is now used regularly by more than 170 million Americans.

According to the memo, ByteDance and TikTok have signed binding agreements with three managing investors – Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX – to establish a new U.S. joint venture called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.

TikTok said the agreement will allow "over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community."

"I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued dedication and tireless work. Your efforts keep us operating at the highest level and will ensure that TikTok continues to grow and thrive in the U.S. and around the world," Chew wrote in the memo. "With these agreements in place, our focus must stay where it's always been – firmly on delivering for our users, creators, businesses and the global TikTok community."

The U.S. joint venture will be 50 percent owned by a consortium of new investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, each holding a 15 percent stake. Affiliates of certain existing ByteDance investors will hold 30.1 percent, while ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent, according to the memo.

The joint venture will be "majority owned by American investors, governed by a new seven-member majority-American board of directors, and subject to terms that protect Americans' data and U.S. national security," the memo said.

The new entity will be responsible for U.S. data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance, while TikTok global's U.S. entities will manage global product interoperability and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising and marketing.

With respect to the algorithm, the memo said the new entity will oversee "retraining the content recommendation algorithm using U.S. user data to ensure the content feed is free from outside manipulation."

The deal is set to close on January 22, 2026.

(With input from Reuters)