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Tech companies are rushing last-minute bids for TikTok as the April 5 deadline nears.<\/p>\n
Amazon and app development company AppLovin both submitted bids<\/a> for unspecified amounts to buy TikTok on Wednesday, days ahead of TikTok’s Saturday deadline to separate from its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.<\/p>\n Amazon sent an offer letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to buy all of TikTok, but The New York Times<\/i><\/a> reports that President Donald Trump’s administration isn’t seriously considering the bid.<\/p>\n AppLovin, a mobile tech platform that helps developers market and monetize apps, also submitted a bid and spoke to real estate billionaire<\/a> Steve Wynn about funding it, per The Wall Street Journal<\/a>. <\/i>The company, which is valued at around $100 billion<\/a>, pitched its offer to the Trump administration as a way to create jobs and address national security issues.<\/p>\n Related: <\/b>You Can Download TikTok Again Through U.S. App Stores<\/a><\/p>\n According to The Journal<\/i><\/a>, President Trump was briefed on Wednesday about a proposal to keep TikTok live in the U.S. The proposal involves cloud computing giant Oracle allying with asset manager Blackstone and other potential investors to make a joint bid on TikTok to ByteDance. Beijing officials will have to sign off on the deal and have indicated that they are open to it, per The Journal<\/i>.<\/p>\n Trump acknowledged last week that the U.S. needed China’s cooperation on any TikTok deal and said he would consider<\/a> “a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done.”<\/p>\n TikTok has received more than just Amazon and AppLovin’s bids. Other groups have submitted formal offers to acquire the app, including billionaire and former L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt<\/a>, who teamed up with Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian<\/a> to submit a $20 billion bid<\/a> in January. AI startup Perplexity also submitted a bid<\/a> in the same month to merge its business with TikTok’s U.S. division for more than $50 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Congress passed a law in April 2024<\/a> called the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Lawmakers, concerned about U.S. user data making its way<\/a> to the Chinese government and TikTok spreading<\/a> Chinese propaganda to the American public, gave TikTok until January 19 to separate from ByteDance and be sold to a non-Chinese company or face a ban in U.S. app stores.<\/p>\n After failing to find a buyer, TikTok went dark on January 18 for 170 million U.S. users<\/a>. The app quickly came back online the following day when Trump pledged to save the app<\/a>. He then signed an executive order<\/a> on January 20, extending the app’s operations in the U.S. by 75 days and giving it more time to find a buyer.<\/p>\n Related:<\/b> TikTok’s Wild Weekend, Explained: From a Ban to an Executive Order, Here’s What to Know.<\/a><\/p>\n