Bloomberg Law
July 24, 2020, 12:21 AM

Combative TikTok Founder Races to Save App Before Trump Ban (2)

Zheping Huang
Zheping Huang
Bloomberg News
Katie Roof
Katie Roof
Bloomberg News

Zhang Yiming is the little-known Chinese entrepreneur who built TikTok into one of the most promising franchises on the internet. Now the brainy, combative 37-year-old is under pressure to save the business from Trump administration threats.

Venture investors in TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. have approached Zhang with a range of proposals to address U.S. concerns that the short-video app is a security threat, according to people familiar with the matter. They include selling a majority stake in TikTok to American interests, perhaps strategic investors or the venture firms themselves, said the people, asking not to be identified because the talks ...