Kevin O’Leary has said he wants to buy TikTok

Kevin O'Leary has added his name to the select few expressing interest in purchasing TikTok, and he's inviting others to join him.

The "Shark Tank" investor announced on Tuesday that he has launched a crowdfunding website to gauge public interest in collectively buying the social media platform. The site allows individuals to "reserve" spots to become potential investors in a U.S.-based version of TikTok. At this stage, no payments are being accepted; reservations merely indicate interest.

Should the crowdfunding campaign proceed, it would comply with U.S. regulations that restrict investment to those earning over $200,000 or possessing specific financial qualifications.

"I'd like to democratize TikTok and turn it into a platform where the user data is protected from the prying eyes of foreign adversaries," O'Leary said in a video posted on Instagram.

This announcement comes after U.S. lawmakers decided last month to ban the Chinese-owned app from U.S. app stores unless it is sold within a year. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has since sued the federal government over the ban. TikTok has stated that it has no plans to sell the platform.

O'Leary, a Canadian investor, first expressed his intention to buy TikTok in March, asserting that "it's not going to get banned because I'm gonna buy it." He noted that companies like Google or Meta would likely face antitrust issues if they attempted to purchase TikTok. In March, he proposed a starting bid of $20 billion to $30 billion, a significant reduction from the company's previous valuation.

The new website, however, does not provide specifics on the fundraising target or whether any discussions with TikTok are currently underway.