Amazon Enters the Battle for TikTok’s US Business

There is very little time left until April 5, when the deadline set by the US authorities for the sale of TikTok’s local assets expires, and literally a few days before that, the list of contenders for their purchase has been replenished with a serious competitor – Amazon. This was reported by The New York Times, citing informed sources.

Image source: Olivier Bergeron / unsplash.com

According to the source, Amazon sent a letter with a purchase offer addressed to US Vice President JD Vance and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Donald Trump reportedly held a meeting at the White House on Wednesday with top government officials to discuss TikTok. The deal could involve a number of new U.S. investors, including tech giant Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone, while avoiding a formal sale, people familiar with the matter said. But it is unclear whether such a deal would comply with federal law, The New York Times noted.

Amazon’s interest in TikTok is understandable, as many of the video service’s popular users encourage users to buy products on the marketplace, receiving royalties in the form of a share of transactions. However, as The New York Times reports, Amazon’s offer is not yet being taken seriously.

Amazon previously created a TikTok clone of sorts, the short-form video platform Inspire for shopping, but it failed to attract much customer traffic and was removed from its app in February 2025.

Several companies and investors have expressed interest in buying TikTok’s U.S. business, including billionaire Frank McCourt and Jesse Tinsley, the founder of Employer.com. Zoop announced its bid on Wednesday, followed by AI search engine Perplexity.