By India McCarty
Amazon is the latest name to join the conversation surrounding the potential sale of TikTok.
“There is interest from Amazon, but there is interest from others as well, so don’t read too much into that,” a Washington, D.C.-based source told Deadline. “The hope is if a deal is near, the Saturday cutoff will be extended by Trump.”
The White House confirmed it received the offer from Amazon on Wednesday but has not shared anything else about the potential deal.
The New York Times first broke the story but claimed some key figures involved in the deal “do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously,” as it was submitted just days before the April 5 deadline that pushed back the initial ban of TikTok in America.
Breaking News: Amazon made a last-minute bid to acquire all of TikTok as the app approaches an April deadline to be sold by its Chinese owner or face a ban in the U.S., people familiar with the offer said. https://t.co/SzzKYVA1lq
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 2, 2025
It’s not surprising Amazon would want to take over TikTok. The e-commerce site has already partnered with TikTok for a shopping deal that allows users to link their Amazon and TikTok accounts. This allows users to make Amazon purchases within the TikTok app.
However, the U.S. government has not been pleased with this partnership. In November 2024, Amazon representatives were questioned by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party about the deal.
“The Select Committee conveyed to Amazon that it is dangerous and unwise for Amazon to partner with TikTok given the grave national security threat the app poses,” a spokesperson for the committee told CNBC.
Representatives from TikTok and Amazon did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
Related: How Do Americans Really Feel About the TikTok Ban?
It’s widely believed that the Trump administration is putting together a proposal that would see a group of U.S. investors owning about 50% of a spin-off version of the app, called “TikTok America.” They would then license the app’s current algorithm from ByteDance.
“We have cooked up this very complex new ownership group that includes complex technological agreements dictated by law in this new structure. That’s proposal A,” a source told CNN.
It’s unknown who is in this proposed investor group, but some of the rumored names include Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (founder Marc Andreessen is close to Elon Musk) and private equity firms Silver Lake and The Blackstone Group.
None of these groups have publicly commented on their possible involvement in the purchase of TikTok.
President Trump has expressed his desire to find a non-Chinese buyer for TikTok and keep the app in America, telling reporters on Air Force One, “We have a lot of potential buyers, there’s tremendous interest in TikTok.”
“The decision is going to be my decision,” he continued. “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
Whether it’s Amazon or a group of investors, the U.S. government is working to ensure TikTok remains in America.
Read Next: President Trump Likely to Keep TikTok Online Despite Looming Deadline
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