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Greetings! While it’s too early to predict what’s going to happen with TikTok, it’s beginning to look like ByteDance has successfully called the U.S.’s bluff. For months, ByteDance has refused to contemplate selling TikTok to avoid a ban. And now, days before the ban is due to take effect, politicians are caving in. Most notably, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer posted on Bluesky on Thursday that “more time is needed to find an American buyer for TikTok. We will continue working to keep TikTok alive.” Yeah, right—that was the problem all along: ByteDance didn’t have enough time to find a buyer, despite passage of the ban law way back in last April. Meanwhile, incoming President Donald Trump’s national security adviser to be, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Thursday that “we will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark.” In another Fox News interview, he said Trump would “create the space to put” a deal in place for TikTok. Put aside for a moment the complications inherent in delaying the ban-or-sell law (presidential executive orders are frequently challenged in court, and not enforcing the law could have other issues, as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted last Friday). The problem with the sale isn’t a lack of buyers, as would-be buyer Bobby Kotick could attest. There’s simply no sign ByteDance wants to sell, and there’s every reason to think China won’t let ByteDance sell TikTok, along with the algorithm that helps the app operate. Forcing the issue with the ban might have changed minds at ByteDance. Elizabeth Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general, told the Supreme Court last week that the ban “might be just the jolt Congress expected the company would need to actually move forward” with a sale. But by backing away from imposing the ban now, the U.S. will likely lose that leverage. The question now is whether Trump can change the dynamic by throwing China a bone to get it to agree to TikTok’s sale. You have to wonder, though, how far he would be willing to go to keep TikTok alive. Where Google goes, Microsoft follows. At least that was the case this week as both companies sought to drive up usage of their artificial intelligence work tools. Microsoft on Thursday took Google’s lead in announcing it would start adding its AI Copilot features to its Office 365 apps automatically, while simultaneously raising the price for an Office subscription. One big difference is that Microsoft will give existing subscribers the option of switching to plans without Copilot, which means the new plan mainly impacts new users. Customers are likely to prefer that flexibility to Google’s approach. As we discussed on Wednesday, Google is now including its AI tools in business products such as corporate Gmail, whether or not customers want them (and raising the price). Earlier this week I committed a grievous mistake: The movie that involves characters ripping off a mask to reveal themselves to be a different person was “Mission: Impossible” with Tom Cruise, not “Face/Off” (as I suggested), where in fact the John Travolta and Nicolas Cage characters had their faces swapped surgically. For those movie buffs offended by the inaccuracy, apologies! • Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith met with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, Microsoft said. Elon Musk also joined the meeting. • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest chipmaker, reported on Thursday that its net income increased 57% to $11.6 billion in the December quarter from a year ago, thanks to strong demand for AI chips. • Amazon is laying off about 200 employees in its North America stores division, the company said Thursday. • Blue Origin launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in a major milestone for the quarter-century-old space company owned by Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos. Dealmaker was named the "Best in Business" newsletter for its insightful coverage of private technology and the AI hype cycle. Start receiving the newsletter here. | 
