AUSTIN – It’s been almost two years since Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in 2024, a rare bi-partisan piece of legislation mandating that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divest its U.S. operations or face a ban. After multiple postponements, the NY Times confirmed last week that ByteDance had struck a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors.
“Investors including the software giant Oracle; MGX, an Emirati investment firm; and Silver Lake, another investment firm, will own more than 80 percent of the new venture,” writes David McCabe and Emmett Lindner in the Times. “That list also includes the personal investment entity for Michael Dell, the tech billionaire behind Dell Technologies, and other firms, TikTok said. Adam Presser, TikTok’s former head of operations, will be the chief executive for the U.S. TikTok.”
“TikTok Shop will now be further entrenched in the U.S. marketplace,” says Shannon Curley, director of Marketing and Growth at Prosper exhibitor Tactical Logistic Solutions and head of her own consulting business. “Professionally, this means more businesses will start selling on TikTok Shop, and it will become even more critical for sellers to have reliable inventory and fulfillment infrastructure in place. I’ve already seen a wave of major distrust in my circles about Oracle’s access and ownership of U.S. data., which has already led, in some instances, to people deleting the app. Do I think that trend will hold? Probably not.”
Meanwhile, the Prosper Show 2026 agenda has officially launched, and it is built to help sellers dominate an increasingly complex marketplace landscape. Prosper organizers have spent months curating a high-impact program designed to help online sellers master Amazon’s latest shifts, expand seamlessly onto Walmart and TikTok Shop, and integrate AI-driven tactics.
“Brand owners are excited about the stability now that TikTok will be owned by a U.S. entity, and we believe that it will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in 2026 and beyond,” adds Ian Sells, founder and CEO of Prosper Show exhibitor Million Dollar Sellers. “We haven’t seen a platform that allows brands to scale quite as fast as TikTok. TikTok has really absorbed all the attention of brands trying to grow on platforms and in retail.”