As the clock ticks down on TikTok's 75-day reprieve from divesting from its Chinese owners or being banned in the United States, several contenders are in the running.

Here's a look at who could save the app before the April 5 deadline.

Elon Musk

While Musk hasn't publicly expressed interest in acquiring TikTok, his $44 billion (R823.23 billion) acquisition of Twitter (now X) in 2022 demonstrates his appetite for social media investments.

Musk has criticised the potential ban, arguing that "it is not just about TikTok, it is about censorship and government control!"

His close relationship with the Trump administration and the US president's explicit openness to Musk as a buyer have fueled speculation the Tesla titan could sweep in and buy it.

A report that Chinese officials were considering selling the company's US operations to Musk X was met with a firm denial from TikTok.

Larry Ellison

Oracle, led by Larry Ellison, already plays a crucial role in TikTok's US operations as its trusted data storage provider -- a relationship that dates back to previous negotiations during the first Trump administration.

With Ellison's personal fortune of $207 billion -- ranking behind only Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, according to Forbes -- Oracle is frequently mentioned as a front-runner. Ellison is also a longtime Donald Trump ally.

Currently, Oracle is key to keeping TikTok available to US users at the request of Trump.

Microsoft

US tech colossus Microsoft stands out as a compelling potential buyer, armed with deep pockets and significant technological capabilities in artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Asked late Monday if Microsoft was in discussion for acquiring TikTok, Trump told reporters: "I would say yes."

While the company founded by Bill Gates has historically dominated in productivity and enterprise software, it has struggled to establish a strong presence in social media and search-based advertising.

According to CFRA Research senior vice president Angelo Zino, Microsoft's interest stems from a desire to strengthen its position beyond LinkedIn, which it owns, in the digital advertising space.

MrBeast

Internet personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, commands over 340 million YouTube subscribers and 113 million TikTok followers. He has joined forces with Recruiter.com Ventures founder Jesse Tinsley to pursue an acquisition.

"Okay fine, I'll buy TikTok so it doesn't get banned," Donaldson said in a mid-January post on X.

Donaldson's casual tweet reportedly attracted serious attention from numerous billionaires. The group has made an all-cash offer that they claim addresses US national security concerns while preserving the platform's essence.

Project Liberty

Real estate and sports tycoon Frank McCourt's Project Liberty initiative has launched "The People's Bid for TikTok," in a campaign joined by investor Kevin O'Leary, known from the "Shark Tank" television show in which entrepreneurs pitch ideas in bids for venture capital.

This unique approach includes a crowdfunding element aimed at giving individuals and small businesses a stake in TikTok's future.

McCourt emphasises their "clean, American-made tech stack" as a key differentiator that could enable a seamless transition.

Perplexity AI

The AI-powered search engine has proposed a unique merger structure that would allow ByteDance's investors to retain much of their equity while integrating more TikTok video content into Perplexity's platform, according to a CNBC report.

Steven Mnuchin

Steven Mnuchin, who served as US Treasury Secretary during Trump's first term as president, announced last year that he was amassing investors to bid for TikTok.

When asked about the effort recently on CNBC's Squawk Box program, Mnuchin said it was put on hold because ByteDance would not negotiate but that they were going to be following developments closely.

No deal?

"The real question though is will TikTok sell to any of them," independent tech analyst Rob Enderle said of the situation.

TikTok does not appear overly motivated regarding the sale of the app, and Chinese firm DeepSeek's AI chatbot has grabbed the tech community's attention -- potentially taking the spotlight off TikTok.

AFP