Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has joined Frank McCourt's bid to acquire TikTok's U.S. operations as a strategic adviser specializing in social media.

Photo Credit: Nrkbeta / CC by 3.0

Ohanian brings significant social media expertise, having co-founded Reddit and later serving as executive chair. His investment portfolio includes successful tech companies like Patreon, OpenSea, and Instacart.

McCourt submitted his bid in early January amid TikTok ban concerns. He has provided detailed information to the White House about:

• Financing structure
• Technical approach
• National security compliance measures

The acquisition faces significant challenges as ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, appears reluctant to sell:

• No investment banker has been retained
• Assets for sale haven't been defined
• ByteDance has indicated preference for shutdown over selling U.S. operations

Current Status:

• President-elect Trump has granted a 75-day delay in enforcing the ban
• Vice President JD Vance is overseeing the sale process
• TikTok briefly shut down before service was restored
• ByteDance remains non-committal about engagement in sales talks

McCourt emphasizes Ohanian's role in validating the project's technology while helping communicate its importance to non-technical stakeholders. The bid's success remains uncertain as ByteDance continues to resist engagement in meaningful sales discussions.

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