Silver Lake

The technology-focused private equity firm with $103 billion in assets under management. - Managing investor with 15% stake

For five years, the world's most popular social media app lived under a death sentence. TikTok, used by 170 million Americans, faced repeated ban threats from two administrations convinced its Chinese ownership posed an unacceptable national security risk. On January 23, 2026, that uncertainty ended: TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC became operational, transferring 80.1% ownership to American and allied investors while ByteDance retained a non-controlling 19.9% stake.

Updated Jan 25

Major technology-focused private equity firm, now a co-managing investor in TikTok's U.S. operations. - New 15% managing investor in TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC

The deal closed on January 22, 2026. TikTok's U.S. operations now belong to TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC—a new entity where Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX each hold 15%, existing ByteDance investor affiliates hold 30.1%, and ByteDance itself retains exactly 19.9%. The ownership math clears the statutory threshold, but the hard work starts now: Oracle must replicate and retrain the recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data alone, while ByteDance loses access to American data flows and direct control over the feed that made TikTok dominant.

Updated Jan 22

Global technology investment firm with $102 billion in assets under management. - Majority investor in WP Engine since 2018

Silver Lake invested $250 million in WP Engine in 2018, taking majority control of the managed WordPress hosting company. Six years later, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg called WP Engine a cancer to WordPress and banned them from WordPress.org resources, triggering a legal battle that has split the community powering 43% of the web.

Updated Jan 8