Frank McCourt announced that Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist Alexis Ohanian has joined his effort to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. Ohanian will serve as a strategic adviser, bringing his expertise in social media to the initiative.
Ohanian, an early internet entrepreneur, co-founded Reddit while at the University of Virginia. After selling the platform to Conde Nast in 2006, he later returned in 2014 as executive chair to oversee its revival. His investment portfolio includes major tech companies such as Instacart, Patreon, and OpenSea.
“He has that broad portfolio of experience … of where social media was and, I think, a keen understanding of where it’s evolving,” McCourt said.
McCourt explained that Ohanian’s role will involve advancing the Project Liberty bid to purchase TikTok’s U.S. assets, a proposal he refers to as “The People’s Bid.” The initiative aims to run TikTok on a system that enables users to control how their data is utilized. “Where he can help mostly is validating but also socializing what we’re doing,” McCourt added. “On the one hand, this is a project which has very sophisticated technology at the core, and so you’re dealing with a very specific audience when it comes to demonstrating the validity of that technology and in how it works, and why it’s necessary.”
“And then you have a totally different constituency, which is basically non-technologists, who are impacted by this technology more than they realize,” he continued.
Ohanian expressed enthusiasm about contributing to the project, emphasizing the importance of giving people more control over their data.
McCourt and his partners submitted their bid in early January, ahead of a looming deadline that required ByteDance to either sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban. The app briefly went offline in the U.S. just before the ban was scheduled to take effect on January 19, but service was restored after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to reinstate access.
Trump later granted a 75-day delay on the ban’s enforcement and tasked Vice President JD Vance with overseeing the sale process.
The opportunity to acquire one of the world’s most prominent video-sharing platforms has attracted interest from various figures across finance, technology, and entertainment. Among other bidders is a group led by entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley, which includes YouTube personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and Wyoming-based entrepreneur Reid Rasner.
McCourt revealed that he has provided the White House with detailed information on his bid, including financial plans, technological strategies, and how his proposal addresses national security concerns. However, ByteDance has remained only “lightly” involved in discussions, according to McCourt. The Chinese parent company has yet to appoint a banker, outline which assets would be sold, or establish a valuation. He also acknowledged the possibility that ByteDance may opt to shut down TikTok in the U.S. rather than proceed with a sale.
