Screentime
Combative TikTok Founder Races to Save App Before Trump Ban
- Venture investors urge Zhang to sell a majority stake in app
- Time is running short to avoid a crackdown from U.S. officials
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Zhang Yiming is the little-known Chinese entrepreneur who built TikTok into one of the most promising franchises on the internet. Now the brainy, combative 37-year-old is under pressure to save the business from Trump administration threats.
Venture investors in TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. have approached Zhang with a range of proposals to address U.S. concerns that the short-video app is a security threat, according to people familiar with the matter. They include selling a majority stake in TikTok to American interests, perhaps strategic investors or the venture firms themselves, said the people, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.