In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship Chen Liang observed that a US consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz is poised to take an 80% stake in a new TikTok US entity, leaving ByteDance with under 20%, with governance shifting to a US-led board and Oracle as data steward. He noted that while negotiations continue over board composition, algorithm licensing, and data residency, the deal balances sovereignty narrative and product continuity, offering fiscal optics for Washington, stability for investors and creators, and a face-saving outcome for Beijing, while shifting TikTok’s defensibility from its algorithm to execution.
