MrBeast and the CEO of Roblox Are Trying to Buy TikTok for Over $20 Billion

MrBeast, the popular YouTuber, is reportedly part of a consortium attempting a $20 billion+ bid for TikTok. This investor group, including Jesse Tinsley (Employer.com founder), David Baszucki (Roblox co-founder and CEO), and Nathan McCauley (Anchorage Digital head), estimates the acquisition will require $25 billion.

Bloomberg reported on this ambitious bid, though the group acknowledges they haven't yet received a direct response from TikTok's owner, ByteDance. ByteDance has publicly stated its U.S. operations are not for sale.

MrBeast's representatives clarified that he's engaged in discussions with multiple parties and aims to align with the eventual leading bidder, potentially shifting allegiances depending on the evolving situation. In a January 22nd tweet, he expressed enthusiasm about the prospect, stating, "The leading groups who are all credible bidding on Tik Tok have reached out for us to help them, I’m excited to partner/make this a reality. Big things cooking."

Earlier this week, President Trump mentioned Microsoft's purported negotiations to acquire TikTok, anticipating a bidding war. Microsoft has yet to verify this claim.

The preceding events followed a temporary shutdown of TikTok for its 170 million U.S. users. This outage occurred just before a January 19th deadline mandating either a sale by ByteDance (due to national security concerns) or a ban. The app went offline after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal based on TikTok's First Amendment arguments. The court acknowledged common data practices in the digital age but cited TikTok's scale, vulnerability to foreign influence, and the sensitive data it collects as justification for the government's national security concerns.

Service was restored following assurances from President Trump that penalties would be avoided. TikTok described this as a victory for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship, committing to collaborate with President Trump on a long-term solution to maintain its presence in the United States.

Upon assuming office on January 20th, President Trump issued an executive order delaying enforcement of the law by 75 days. He's actively engaged in discussions with various entities regarding a potential TikTok buyout, including expressing openness to Elon Musk's potential involvement.