Satya Nadella discusses Microsoft’s strange potential purchase of TikTok

Satya Nadella was intrigued by TikTok but called the saga surrounding its potential acquisition by Microsoft the "strangest thing [he's] ever sort of worked on."

What you need to know

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently discussed Windows Phone, Discord, and TikTok at the 2021 Code Conference.
• Nadella called Microsoft's potential deal with TikTok the "strangest thing [he's] ever worked on."
• The CEO also said that "Microsoft was doing a lot of things out of envy," which likely referred to Windows Phone.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke at Vox Media's Code Conference last night. The CEO discussed "re-founding" Microsoft, Windows Phone, and Microsoft's previous interest in acquiring Discord (sort of). Nadella also recounted the saga of Microsoft's potential purchase of TikTok, which he referred to as the "strangest thing [he's] ever worked on."

Speaking of his earlier days at Microsoft, Nadella said that "Microsoft was doing a lot of things out of envy, not ... things that we were meant to do." He was likely referring to Windows Phone, according to The Verge's Dieter Bohn. Nadella suggested that Microsoft was envious of closed platforms but needed to "get back to what Windows is fantastic at, at being an open platform."

Kara Swisher hosted the event and tried to get Nadella to open up about Microsoft's pursuit of Discord. Nadella joked, "What is Discord?" Microsoft hasn't publicly confirmed that it was interested in Discord, so it's not surprising to see Nadella rebuff any discussions about it.

Nadella:

"TikTok came to us, we didn't come to TikTok ... But I was kind of intrigued by it. And then I guess the rest is history."

And much laughter.

— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) September 28, 2021

Nadella did, however, dive into the strange saga of Microsoft almost acquiring TikTok. "It was the strangest thing. First of all, TikTok came to us, we didn't go to TikTok," said the CEO.

"President Trump had a particular point of view of what he was trying to get done there and then it just dropped off. I mean it was interesting. There was a period of time when I felt the USG had some particular set of requirements and then it just disappeared."

Microsoft's CEO mentioned that TikTok uses artificial intelligence and is based in the cloud. Microsoft also invests heavily in these areas, so the social media giant could have potentially been a good fit with Microsoft. Nadella said that TikTok was an "interesting product."

The legal saga surrounding TikTok's potential sale involved the app being banned in the U.S. and Microsoft's CEO calling President Donald Trump directly. Microsoft president Brad Smith details the situation in his book Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age.

Ultimately, Microsoft did not acquire TikTok. Microsoft appears to have moved on from any desire to acquire the social media platform. "At this point, I'm happy with what I have," said Nadella.