JD Vance 'Quarterbacking' TikTok Deal: Will His Venture Capital Experience Secure A Win?

Vice President J.D. Vance is being put in charge of overseeing a deal to save TikTok after President Donald Trump changed his mind and decided to temporarily save the Chinese social media app.

What Happened: Vance, who is a former venture capitalist, is being tasked with helping land the best deal for the potential sale of TikTok's U.S. division to a buyer in the United States.

Vance and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz have been put in charge of the task, according to a Punchbowl report.

Sources say Vance is in charge of "quarterbacking a deal to save TikTok," which comes after Trump gave 75 days for TikTok parent ByteDance to work out a deal that would give the U.S. or an American company ownership of the U.S. TikTok division.

In 2024, Congress passed a bipartisan law banning TikTok, a decision later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, Trump's executive order delayed enforcement, leaving TikTok's future uncertain as ByteDance races to find a buyer and finalize a deal.

ByteDance temporarily shut off access to TikTok to hundreds of millions of Americans before reversing course after Trump's executive order. Smartphone owners in the U.S. who did not have TikTok previously installed are unable to download it during the current waiting period.

Vance and Waltz face challenges to make a deal that appeases several parties, including Trump, ByteDance, China, members of Congress, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the potential buying group.

As a former member of Congress and venture capitalist, Vance’s deal-making experience in both politics and investments could help broker an agreement. This move may also serve as an early test of his effectiveness in the vice-presidential role.

Trump previously suggested that the American government could own part of TikTok, potentially through the newly created U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

The president has voiced support for Oracle Corporation ORCL co-founder Larry Ellison or Tesla CEO Elon Musk buying TikTok. Musk recently said he is not interested. Billionaire Frank McCourt, Shark Tank member Kevin O'Leary and content creator MrBeast are among the names that have expressed interest in buying TikTok.

Amazon.com Inc AMZN and Microsoft Corporation MSFT are also names that pop up with potential interest in acquiring a stake in TikTok, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Did You Know?

Congress Is Making Huge Investments. Get Tips On What They Bought And Sold With Our Easy-to-Use Tool

Why It's Important: Vance's task of finding the right deal for all parties involved faces tough odds.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew met with White House officials last week and pitched a U.S. joint venture that would be headquartered in the United States with a board of directors made up of a majority of U.S. members, with the country also overseeing data security.

ByteDance has not been open to selling TikTok off in its entirety. The discussion of a TikTok deal also comes as Trump's tariff proposals and talks with China over trade could make the ByteDance-owned app a leverage piece in a potential trade war.

Vance was a former principal at Peter Thiel's Mithril Capital in 2016 and 2017. He later left Mithril to work at Revolution LLC in 2017, an investment firm founded by AOL founder Steve Case.

In 2019, Vance co-founded Narya Capital, a venture capital fund that received backing from Thiel, Eric Schmidt and Marc Andreessen.

With his venture capital history, Vance has experience in the technology sector and connections to several notable venture capitalists.

While Vance worked for several VC firms, his work ethic has been questioned by several former co-workers.

“It never seemed like he was even working,” a former coworker told Business Insider. “It felt like his full-time job was the book.”

Former coworkers said Vance did not close a single deal a year after he started with the firm.

Vance has acknowledged his potential lack of contribution at Mithril.

“How useful I’ve been on that front is probably debatable,” Vance said in a previous interview on his venture capital history.

For Vance, securing a deal for TikTok could help win him praise from Trump and Congress members and silence the naysayers who doubt his VC deal-making abilities.

Read Next: