ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has earmarked over 150 billion yuan ($20.64 billion) in capital expenditure for this year, much of which will be centred on artificial intelligence, two people briefed on the matter said.

The bankers definitely want in despite this being a heavy lift because the fees on an estimated $20-plus billion deal could be pretty rich.

TikTok is considering alternative solutions to selling its US business, as owner ByteDance continues the fight to keep its 170 million American users after a reprieve from the Trump administration, a board member of ByteDance was quoted by Chinese magazine Caixin as saying.

Bill Ford, the CEO of ByteDance shareholder General Atlantic, said Wednesday he was confident that a deal will be reached to ensure TikTok stays online in the US — and suggested there may be

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that TikTok remains a national security threat and he hopes President-elect Trump can reaches a deal that leads to China-based ByteDance selling its stake in the app.

TikTok owner ByteDance is reportedly still searching for non-sale options to stay in the US after the Supreme Court upheld a national security law requiring that TikTok's US operations either be shut down or sold to a non-foreign adversary.

TikTok owner ByteDance on Wednesday released an update to its flagship AI model as a global race intensified to create AI models capable of tackling complex problems.

General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford said on Wednesday that a deal would get done to save TikTok in the U.S. after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that halted a ban on the app for 75 days.

TikTok's influence has been greater than its seemingly short-lived demise. The ByteDance-owned app returns after going dark over the weekend.

ByteDance is placing a big bet on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure as the TikTok parent plans to spend more than $12 billion on AI in 2025, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

General Atlantic CEO and ByteDance board member Bill Ford said Wednesday that he believes TikTok soon will reach a deal to remain in the U.S.  “It’s in everybody’s interest,” Ford said