Frank McCourt announced that Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, has joined his bid to acquire TikTok’s US operations as a strategic adviser. Ohanian’s experience in social media and tech investments will aid McCourt’s “Project Liberty,” which aims to empower users with control over their data. The bid comes amidst impending regulations mandating ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. Other bidders include investor Jesse Tinsley and YouTube star MrBeast. McCourt has communicated details of his bid to the White House, emphasizing support for national security concerns, while ByteDance remains minimally engaged in the sale process.
On Monday, Frank McCourt announced that Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and a venture capitalist, has joined his initiative to acquire TikTok’s US operations as a strategic adviser with expertise in social media.
Ohanian, an internet pioneer, co-founded Reddit while attending the University of Virginia with his roommate. He sold the platform to Conde Nast in 2006, and later returned in 2014 as executive chair to spearhead its revitalization. Additionally, he has invested in several tech companies, such as Instacart, Patreon, and OpenSea.
“He possesses a comprehensive portfolio of experience … regarding the evolution of social media, and I believe he has a sharp insight into its future direction,” stated McCourt.
McCourt explained that Ohanian will assist in promoting the Project Liberty bid to purchase TikTok’s US assets, referred to as “The People’s Bid,” due to plans for the app to utilize technology that enables users to manage how their data is utilized and shared.
“His main contribution will be both validating and communicating our efforts,” McCourt remarked. “On one hand, this project is built on very advanced technology, which targets a specific audience for demonstrating the technology’s validity and its necessity.”
“Conversely, there exists an entirely different group that consists of non-tech users, who are more affected by this technology than they might realize,” McCourt added.
Ohanian expressed enthusiasm for collaborating on the project and aims to provide individuals with greater control over their data.
The former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with his partners, placed a bid for TikTok in early January, as a deadline loomed that would force ByteDance to divest the app to a US owner or face a prohibition.
Shortly before the ban was scheduled to be implemented on January 19, the app briefly halted operations in the US, then resumed service after President-elect Donald Trump indicated he would reinstate the app’s functionality.
Trump postponed the enforcement of the ban by 75 days and instructed Vice President JD Vance to supervise the sale process.
The potential to own one of the globe’s most recognized video-sharing platforms, or at least its US user base, has attracted a growing roster of individuals and organizations from the finance, technology, and entertainment sectors.
Other bidders comprise a consortium led by tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley, which includes YouTube personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, along with Wyoming entrepreneur Reid Rasner.
McCourt mentioned that he has provided substantial details about his TikTok bid to the White House, including information on his funding, his technological approach, and how his bid addresses national security concerns.
BiteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, is only “lightly” engaged, according to McCourt. They have not hired a banker or specified the assets to be sold — nor have they set a valuation, he noted. He added that there is a possibility that ByteDance might choose to shut down the widely used short-video app rather than sell it.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
(This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by NDTV staff.)
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