On Monday, President Donald Trump informed reporters that Microsoft is engaged in negotiations to purchase TikTok, expressing a desire to see multiple bidders for the popular app.
Microsoft has opted not to provide any comments regarding the discussions. Meanwhile, TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, did not respond to inquiries from Reuters outside of standard business hours.
TikTok, which has garnered approximately 170 million users in the United States, was temporarily taken offline just prior to the enforcement of a law mandating its Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest the app due to national security concerns, or face a ban starting January 19.
After assuming office on January 20, Trump issued an executive order delaying the law’s enforcement for a period of 75 days.
Last week, Trump indicated that he was negotiating with several parties interested in acquiring TikTok and expected to announce a decision regarding the app’s future within 30 days.
The president previously mentioned he would welcome billionaire Elon Musk’s potential purchase of the app, although Musk has not publicly reacted to the suggestion.
In a recent development, AI startup Perplexity AI proposed a merger with TikTok that would see the U.S. government holding up to a 50% share in the new entity, according to a source who spoke to Reuters on Sunday.
This marks the second instance of Microsoft being considered as a potential buyer for TikTok. During Trump’s first term, he mandated that TikTok sever ties with ByteDance in light of national security issues.
Microsoft had positioned itself as a leading contender in 2020, but negotiations subsequently fizzled, and the drive for divestment ceased a few months later upon Trump’s departure from office.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, has referred to that proposed deal as the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on,” noting that the U.S. government had a “particular set of requirements” before the discussions abruptly came to an end.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
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