ByteDance unaware of $5B education fund in TikTok deal

ByteDance, the owner of video app TikTok, said Sunday it had heard for the first time that it was setting up a $5 billion education fund in the U.S., Reuters reported. 

“The company has been committed to investing in the education field, and plans to work with partners and global shareholders to launch online classroom projects based on AI and video technology for students around the world,” ByteDance said on its official account on Toutiao, according to the newswire. 

President Trump said Saturday that he approved a proposal from TikTok, Oracle and Walmart that would stop the video app from being shut down. The president said as part of the deal, TikTok would “be making about a $5 billion contribution towards education.” 

“We’re going to be setting up a very large fund for the education of American youth,” he said. 

Neither TikTok nor Oracle’s statements include any mention of such a fund. 

A spokesperson for ByteDance was not immediately available for comment. 

The partnership Trump said he approved came just days before the deadline for divesture set up by an executive order signed by Trump last month.

The order argued that TikTok’s ties to China posted a national security threat, based on a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.