TikTok's ByteDance in talks with India’s Reliance for investment.ByteDance is reportedly in talks with India’s Reliance Industries possibly to save its future in India, a country that is important for TikTok. There are no official words on the collaboration from either ByteDance or Mukesh Ambani headed Reliance for now. TechCrunch reported about the matter and said two sources familiar with the deal have confirmed a few details about Reliance’s plan to invest in the ByteDance platform to the publication.
The publication said that “ByteDance is engaging in early discussions with Reliance Industries Limited, the parent firm of telecom giant Jio Platforms, for financially backing TikTok’s business in India in a move to potentially save the popular video app’s fate in its biggest market by users.” TikTok has over 200 million users before it was banned in the country in late June.
According to the report, Reliance and ByteDance began conversations about the deal late last month and are yet to reach the deal. The government of India banned TikTok alongside 58 other Chinese apps a few months ago. Since then TikTok is unavailable in the country. The app has been removed from both Google Play store as well as App store. For now, the company has said that it is working with the Indian government and will resolve all issues and be back soon.
The report stated that ByteDance did not comment when questioned on the matter. Neither has Reliance Jio revealed anything about the deal.
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With investment in ByteDance, Reliance will be able to make much deeper connections with consumers. In the United States ByteDance is said to be in talks with tech giant Microsoft. President Trump has issued an executive order to stop all Us transactions with TikTok as well as WeChat. Trump has said that ByteDance must sell its US business to an American company to save itself from getting banned in the US. Another report suggests that tech giant Twitter is also exploring opportunities to buy TikTok’s US business.