Amazon.com has made a last-minute offer to acquire TikTok, according to a U.S. administration official on Wednesday. This comes just days before the April 5 deadline for the short-form video platform to secure a non-Chinese buyer or risk being banned in the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump is anticipated to address TikTok’s future during a meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, where he will review a final proposal concerning the app, as reported by a White House official to Reuters on Tuesday.
Amazon chose not to comment on the matter, and TikTok, along with its parent company ByteDance, has not yet responded to requests for comment from Reuters. Following the news, Amazon’s shares experienced a 1.3% increase in trading volume.
The tech and e-commerce giant is the latest contender among those reportedly interested in purchasing the platform. Last month, Trump mentioned that his administration was in discussions with four different groups regarding the sale, although he did not disclose their identities.
Private equity firm Blackstone is reportedly in talks to join existing non-Chinese investors in ByteDance, led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, to provide additional funding for a bid on TikTok’s U.S. operations, as reported by Reuters last week.
Additionally, U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is negotiating to bring in new external investment aimed at buying out TikTok’s Chinese stakeholders, as part of a bid spearheaded by Oracle and other American investors to separate it from ByteDance, according to the Financial Times on Tuesday.
Discussions led by the White House include plans to establish a U.S. entity for TikTok, reducing Chinese ownership in the new company to below the 20% threshold mandated by U.S. law, as reported by Reuters last month.
The New York Times was the first to report on Amazon’s involvement on Wednesday. However, various parties engaged in the negotiations reportedly do not view Amazon’s bid as a serious contender, according to the report. The offer was made through a letter addressed to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The future of the app utilized by nearly half of the American population remains uncertain following a 2024 law, which was passed with significant bipartisan support, mandating ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19.
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Officials in Washington argue that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok ties the app to the Chinese government, raising concerns that Beijing could leverage it for influence operations against the U.S. and for gathering data on American citizens.
Additionally, Amazon has ventured into the social media arena with its own short-form video and photo feed, Inspire, which was previously integrated into its mobile application. However, recent media reports indicated that Amazon has discontinued Inspire.
