by Mark Anderson
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has joined a bid led by real estate mogul Frank McCourt to buy TikTok and stave off a US ban, becoming the latest big industry name to covet a slice of the Chinese-owned social media phenom.
Ohanian, who founded the popular Q&A service in his 20s, joins a growing roster of industry and media celebrities hoping to acquire ByteDance Ltd.’s prized asset. Tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley is leading a competing group of investors, who include YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson (better known as MrBeast).
President Donald Trump has given the company until April to orchestrate a deal that satisfies US national security concerns — or face a nationwide ban. Ohanian said on X he will work with McCourt, a former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers who emerged as an aggressive and unexpected suitor for the app.
“A TikTok for the people, by the people. Let’s see if we can pull this off,” Ohanian said.
Exciting news for the digital world...
I'm officially now one of the people trying to buy TikTok US — and bring it on-chain.
TikTok has been a game-changer for creators, and it's future should be built by them↓ pic.twitter.com/SPq1Ppv1kK
— Alexis Ohanian 🗽 (@alexisohanian) March 4, 2025
McCourt said previously he’d need $25 billion to buy the app, far more than his net worth of $2.4 billion at the time, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s held fundraising meetings in New York and San Francisco to help recruit potential banking partners.
Ohanian added on X he wanted to give users ownership over their data, a vision shared by McCourt, who has unveiled a plan to move TikTok’s users and content to an American-made network of servers.
McCourt launched Project Liberty, then a $100 million initiative based on the notion that social media companies are too powerful and controlling.
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