ByteDance is a technology company that owns and operates machine learning content platforms that allow users to connect in communities, create and share contents. The mission of the company is "Inspire Creativity, Enrich life".
Zhang Yiming founded ByteDance on March 9, 2012 in Beijing, China. Its flagship product is Toutiao, an artificial intelligence powered platform delivering personalized content recommendations for its users. It also operates a series of products for mobile users including Topbuzz, Flipagram and other user-generated content short-form video applications.
ByteDance acquired musical.ly, a global video community that celebrates creativity through the combination of short videos and music. In August 2018, ByteDance merged musical.ly into their product, TikTok, which initially launched in May 2017, to provide a unified user experience between both platforms. Other social media applications they operate include Helo, Douyin, BaBe, Huoshan Video and Lark.
Timeline
August 2020
ByteDance launches Toutiao Search for the Chinese market to take on Baidu.
January 3, 2020
ByteDance and TikTok have built a deepfakes maker.
July 29, 2019
ByteDance announces it will begin making smartphones
November 1, 2017
ByteDance raises a $257,000,000 series D round from QiMing Venture Partners.
Funding rounds
Funding round
Funding type
Funding round amount (USD)
Funding round date
Investment
3,000,000,000
October 26, 2018
1,300,000,000
April 10, 2019
257,000,000
November 1, 2017
Products
Product
Description
Launch date
Industry
Website
People
Name
Role
LinkedIn
Arthur Dantchik
Director of the Board
Neil Shen
Director of the Board
Philippe Laffont
Director of the Board
William Ford
Director of the Board
Zhang Yiming
Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board
Further reading
Title
Author
Link
Type
Date
China's ByteDance leapfrogs Uber to becomes world's most valuable startup
Jon Russell
News
TikTok owner Bytedance is now the world's most valuable startup
Sam Byford
News
Documentaries, videos and podcasts
Title
Date
Link
Companies
Company
CEO
Location
Products/Services
News
Title
Author
Date
Publisher
Description
February 26, 2021
The Economic Times
The federal lawsuit alleged that TikTok broke the Illinois biometric privacy law, which allows suits against companies that harvest consumer data without consent, including via facial and fingerprint scanning.
The Associated Press
February 26, 2021
CTVNews
TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance has agreed to pay $92 million in a settlement to U.S. users who are part of a class-action lawsuit alleging that the video-sharing app failed to get their consent to collect data in violation of a strict Illinois privacy law
Isobel Asher Hamilton
February 19, 2021
Business Insider
The ex-ByteDance employee said the company tried to make an algorithm to censor Uigher livestreams from TikTok's sister app Douyin.
Frederic Lardinois
February 18, 2021
TechCrunch
LOT Network, the non-profit that helps businesses of all sizes and across industries defend themselves against patent trolls by creating a shared pool of patents to immunize themselves against them, today announced that TikTik parent ByteDance is joining its group. ByteDance has acquired its fair share of patents in recent years and is itself embroiled [...]
Julie Gerstein
February 15, 2021
Business Insider
Last week the Biden administration put the brakes on efforts to ban the app in the US, a policy that had been championed by Trump officials.
February 14, 2021
The Indian Express
Glance's parent, mobile advertising technology firm InMobi, also owns short-video app Roposo that has gained in popularity after TikTok was banned by the Indian government in July last year.
Reuters
February 13, 2021
@bsindia
The discussions, initiated by Japans SoftBank Group Corp, are private, early and complex, the report said
Reuters
February 10, 2021
@bsindia
The administration of former President Donald Trump had cited national security concerns in its targeting of TikTok, arguing that the personal data of US users could be obtained by Chinas governmen
Rita Liao
February 8, 2021
TechCrunch
ByteDance is bringing its battle with archrival Tencent to the court at a time when the Chinese government moves to curve the power of the country's internet behemoths. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court has permitted a ByteDance lawsuit brought against Tencent to proceed, a ByteDance spokesperson confirmed with TechCrunch. Upstart new media company ByteDance alleged [...]
Wei Sheng
February 3, 2021
TechNode
The suit between Douyin and Tencent comes as China tightens antitrust regulations for tech companies and refines laws to better rein in the internet sector.
Reuters
February 3, 2021
The Hindu
ByteDance has asked the court to order Tencent to desist with such restrictions, ByteDance said. Douyin is the Chinese version of ByteDance's popular short video app, TikTok.
Sarah Perez
January 30, 2021
TechCrunch
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps on Android [...]
Kate Duffy and Reuters
January 27, 2021
Business Insider
The job cuts at ByteDance, which owns TikTok, follow India's decision to retain its ban TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps.
Emma Lee
January 27, 2021
TechNode
ByteDance joins the annual Spring Festival marketing blowout. Alipay prepares for the 2021 red envelope war. Edtech attracts more investment.
January 27, 2021
The Indian Express
The move came after India decided to retain its ban on TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps following responses from the companies on issues such as compliance and privacy.
Manish Singh
January 27, 2021
TechCrunch
Chinese internet giant ByteDance has told employees in India that it will be reducing the size of its team in the country after New Delhi retained ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps in the country, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The company shared the news with employees in the country at [...]
Wei Sheng
January 20, 2021
TechNode
Douyin Pay was recently added to the app, allowing users to buy virtual gifts for livestreamers and pay for goods on the app's e-commerce platform.
Rita Liao
December 23, 2020
TechCrunch
ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, is entering the health industry as it seeks to diversify a business dependent on advertising and livestreaming sales. The company, which prides itself on content algorithms, has started seeking talent in AI drug discovery across Mountain View, Shanghai and Beijing, its recruiting page shows. "We are looking for candidates to [...]
Julie Zhu
December 22, 2020
DealStreetAsia
ByteDance plans to buy part or all of the 27.6% CMGE stake held by Fairview Ridge Investment.
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References
Is a
Company attributes
Location
Company status
Active
CEO
Founder
Crunchbase
Pitchbook
Subsidiary
Investors
Founded date
2012
Email address
bd@bytedance.com
Total funding amount (USD)
4,557,000,000
Latest funding round date
April 10, 2019
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Techno Geek + Gamer + Fashionista + Sense of Humor = It's ME