Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX has acquired a 15% stake in TikTok’s newly formed US joint venture, marking a significant shift in the ownership of one of America’s most popular social media platforms. The deal, announced by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, resolves years of political pressure surrounding the Chinese-owned app while introducing a powerful Middle Eastern investor into American tech.
The Deal: A New Ownership Structure
TikTok and ByteDance have signed binding agreements with three managing investors (Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX) to create TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, with the deal closing on January 22, 2026. Each of the three partners holds a 15% stake, while ByteDance affiliates control 30.1% and ByteDance itself retains 19.9%, keeping it below the critical 20% threshold required by US law.
The joint venture will operate with an American-majority board overseeing US data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance. The deal values TikTok’s US operations at approximately $14 billion.
Who is MGX?
MGX is a relative newcomer on the global investment stage but has rapidly become one of the world’s most aggressive AI investors. Established in 2024 by the government of Abu Dhabi through a partnership between sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and AI firm G42, the fund targets $100 billion in assets under management.
Chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan and vice-chaired by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, MGX operates under the direct leadership of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. Since its launch, the firm has deployed capital aggressively across the AI ecosystem, partnering with BlackRock and Microsoft on the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership in September 2024, and joining OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle on the Stargate Project in January 2025.
MGX focuses on three core areas: AI infrastructure, including data centres, semiconductor design and manufacturing, and AI technologies spanning models, software, and robotics. This strategy has made it an essential partner for American tech companies facing enormous infrastructure costs for AI development.
Oracle’s Critical Role
Oracle’s 15% stake carries operational significance beyond capital. The company will retrain TikTok’s recommendation algorithm using US-based data to ensure the content feed remains insulated from foreign influence. Oracle already provides cloud infrastructure for TikTok’s US operations, making it a natural technical partner.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s close ties with the Trump administration lend political cover to the arrangement. Oracle’s stock jumped 4.7% in premarket trading following the announcement.
What MGX Gains
For MGX, the TikTok investment represents a departure from its infrastructure-focused strategy. The firm gains exposure to a consumer platform with extraordinary reach and cultural influence, particularly among younger demographics. TikTok’s recommendation algorithm represents one of the most sophisticated examples of applied AI in consumer technology, offering insights that could inform MGX’s broader AI investment strategy.
The deal also provides MGX with board representation and insight into how a highly scrutinized tech platform navigates the American regulatory environment, potentially valuable knowledge for its other US investments.
The Bigger Picture
MGX’s TikTok investment exemplifies Gulf states’ growing technology footprint. These sovereign wealth funds are using oil revenues to establish themselves as major players in global tech, providing diversification for post-petroleum economies while creating channels for technology transfer and political influence.
As the AI boom creates infrastructure demands that even the wealthiest American companies struggle to meet alone, Middle Eastern capital has become increasingly indispensable. MGX’s entry into TikTok signals that this trend is expanding beyond infrastructure into consumer-facing platforms, raising new questions about foreign influence in the digital spaces where Americans spend their time.
