Marc Andreessen is pushing to buy TikTok in a deal designed to meet demands from President Donald Trump, who’s threatening to ban the app in the United States by April 5 unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, hands over full control of the U.S. side to American investors.
According to a report by the Financial Times, through his venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Marc is in active talks to join the investor group trying to buy out TikTok’s Chinese shareholders.
The plan puts Oracle, a software giant co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison, at the center of the bid, alongside other U.S. investors looking to avoid a ban under the new federal law.
Marc pushes for larger stake while Blackstone joins late talks
Marc has not previously invested in ByteDance, but officials close to the deal reportedly say he’s now strongly considering it after being approached by TikTok’s advisers and the White House.
He’s not just showing interest—he’s aiming for a larger stake than other firms. The FT report also says that Blackstone Group is also involved, but on a much smaller scale, looking to invest under $1 billion.
The negotiations come just days before the deadline when TikTok could be banned if it’s still under Chinese control. Marc’s involvement isn’t random. His firm has serious weight in Silicon Valley and Washington.
He invested early in Facebook, and in 2022, he threw $400 million into Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition. He’s also a vocal Trump supporter, which makes him a valuable figure in this political-financial play.
“This is part of a larger negotiation involving Oracle and U.S.-based investors,” the report says, describing how this group is working to show Trump that TikTok’s American business can operate independently from Chinese influence. Marc’s involvement adds new firepower to the bid, and the government clearly wants more American firms with deep pockets to step in before the deadline.
Other names already involved with ByteDance are also trying to get a bigger piece of TikTok if the deal goes through. These include General Atlantic, Susquehanna International Group, KKR, and Coatue Management. They’re reportedly aiming to grab additional shares in the U.S. version of TikTok once it’s carved out from ByteDance.
Oracle’s role would be both financial and technical. If the deal goes through, they’d take a small ownership share but would be responsible for safeguarding all U.S. user data. The app’s powerful algorithm—the key to TikTok’s viral reach—would still be controlled by ByteDance, which is something China’s government insists on.
Marc’s connections to Trump go beyond just cash, as he helped Elon Musk find staff for a government cost-cutting group tied to Trump’s administration. And Sriram Krishnan, who used to be a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, now works as a White House AI adviser under Trump.
On top of all this, Marc’s firm is heavily invested in Elon’s projects. That includes xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which just acquired X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as Cryptopolitan reported on Friday.
This puts Marc even closer to Trump’s inner circle and gives him more influence as the administration moves aggressively on tech regulation and national security concerns.
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