ByteDance, the world’s most valuable venture capital–backed startup, is on a collision course with Facebook. I predict that the Chinese upstart will start competing head-to-head with Facebook for ad dollars in India and Southeast Asia, and will start nibbling even in the U.S., as it makes inroads with the app formerly known as Musical.ly.
Still largely unknown outside of China, ByteDance has created a string of blockbuster apps in China that use sophisticated modeling and machine learning to deliver a stream of tailored content to its users, including jokes, news articles and short, silly video clips. With Musical.ly, the U.S. lip-sync video app ByteDance acquired last year, the Chinese media firm has taken the formula overseas.
