Jimmy Donaldson, better known as the popular YouTuber MrBeast, is part of an investment group reportedly attempting to purchase TikTok with a bid exceeding $20 billion. According to Bloomberg, Donaldson has joined forces with Jesse Tinsley, the founder of Employer.com, Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley, head of the crypto platform Anchorage Digital. This consortium believes that it will take $25 billion to acquire the social media giant.

Despite these efforts, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has stated that its U.S. business is not for sale. The group led by Tinsley has yet to receive a direct response from ByteDance. Meanwhile, representatives for Donaldson have indicated that he is in discussions with multiple parties and is open to joining the leading bidder. On January 22, Donaldson tweeted, "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 in the week, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Microsoft was in talks to buy TikTok and expressed his desire for a bidding war over the app. Microsoft, however, has not confirmed these claims.

TikTok, which boasts 170 million users in the U.S., was temporarily taken offline just before a law was set to take effect on January 19. This law required ByteDance to sell TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban. The app was brought back online after the Supreme Court rejected TikTok's First Amendment challenge, with the justices noting that while data collection is common, "TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns."

Following assurances from Trump, TikTok resumed service, stating, "It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."

After taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the law by 75 days. He is currently in talks with various companies and individuals, including Elon Musk, about a potential buyout of TikTok.