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Musical.ly's Shanghai headquarters in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg.

Biden’s Path to Forcing TikTok Sale Leads to Now-Dead App Musical.ly

By Juro Osawa and Maria Heeter · March 21, 2023 1:00 PM PDT

Would TikTok have become a powerhouse without Musical.ly? As arcane as that question might appear, it could become the paramount issue in court if the Biden administration tries to force TikTok’s parent ByteDance to sell the app. That’s because ByteDance’s 2017 purchase of Musical.ly, a rival to the then-young TikTok, is what... Would TikTok have become a powerhouse without Musical.ly? As arcane as that question might...

A sign outside TikTok's offices in Culver City, Calif. this week. Photo by Getty.

TikTok Tries to Allay Advertisers’ Concerns as U.S. Ban Threat Looms

By Kaya Yurieff and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · March 17, 2023 12:21 PM PDT

No matter what happens in Washington, TikTok needs to keep advertisers spending money on the app. The latest threat of a ban, made recently by the Biden administration, has prompted marketers to consider their alternatives, ad executives say. TikTok has been taking steps to reassure the ad industry, including convening a closed-door meeting with... No matter what happens in Washington, TikTok needs to keep advertisers spending money on the app....

Photo via AP

Creator Economy

TikTokers Have Been Through Ban Threats Before

By Kaya Yurieff · March 16, 2023 3:15 PM PDT · 1 comment

The threat of a TikTok ban is once again a real possibility, after U.S. officials said the ByteDance-owned app needed to rid itself of its Chinese ownership. Creators, having been through this rigmarole three years ago, are more prepared this time.In August 2020—when a U.S. ban felt imminent under former President Donald Trump—many of them ... The threat of a TikTok ban is once again a real possibility, after U.S. officials said the...

Photo by AP.

TikTok Sale Likely to Be Rejected by China

By Juro Osawa, Sylvia Varnham O'Regan, Kaya Yurieff and Shai Oster · March 16, 2023 2:55 PM PDT · 10 comments

Photo by AP.

TikTok Sale Likely to Be Rejected by China

By Juro Osawa, Sylvia Varnham O'Regan, Kaya Yurieff and Shai Oster · March 16, 2023 2:55 PM PDT · 10 comments

The Chinese government is likely to oppose any attempt by the Biden administration to force TikTok’s Chinese shareholders to sell their stakes in the hugely popular app, said China-based lawyers and investors, setting the stage for a protracted standoff between Beijing and Washington over the future of TikTok. “Why would China agree?... The Chinese government is likely to oppose any attempt by the Biden administration to force...

Customers wait in line outside a Silicon Valley Bank branch in Wellesley, Mass., on Monday. Photo by Bloomberg.

SVB’s Chinese Customers Face Logjams In Moving Money

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · March 14, 2023 7:48 AM PDT · 1 comment

As customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank rush to open new accounts at other banks, SVB’s China-based customers are in a bind. They face far more obstacles than their American counterparts when it comes to setting up new U.S. bank accounts, making an immediate switch from SVB much harder. That’s in part because Chinese tech... As customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank rush to open new accounts at other banks,...

Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Photo by Bloomberg

Silicon Valley Bank’s Troubles Threaten a Key Bridge Between Chinese Startups and U.S. Investors

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · March 10, 2023 5:42 AM PST

The panic over the status of Silicon Valley Bank intensified on Friday, as the stock of SVB’s parent fell another 66% in pre-trading hours. Meanwhile, anxieties spread to China overnight, prompting local venture capitalists and entrepreneurs to follow their U.S. counterparts and look for alternative banks for their U.S. dollar holdings. ... The panic over the status of Silicon Valley Bank intensified on Friday, as the stock of...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew photographed in the company's Washington, D.C. office. Photo by Getty.

TikTok’s Plan to Stay in the U.S. Could Pose a Threat—to U.S. Tech Companies

By Matt Perault · March 9, 2023 9:00 AM PST · 8 comments

In a bid to avoid a U.S. ban, TikTok is embarking on a project to restructure its product and operations in the country. It plans to store local citizen data on local servers, create a domestic entity to house that data, comply with local legal and law enforcement requests for data, limit the flow of data across national borders—and spend... In a bid to avoid a U.S. ban, TikTok is embarking on a project to restructure its product and...

Art by Clark Miller

How Apple’s Need for Cutting Edge Screens Kept Tech’s Unhappiest Marriage Alive

By Wayne Ma · March 6, 2023 6:00 AM PST · 2 comments

Art by Clark Miller

How Apple’s Need for Cutting Edge Screens Kept Tech’s Unhappiest Marriage Alive

By Wayne Ma · March 6, 2023 6:00 AM PST · 2 comments

There are complicated relationships in the tech industry. And then there is the rocky marriage between Apple and Samsung Electronics. While Apple has long depended on the Korean electronics giant to supply key parts for the iPhone, it has also waged a long-running court battle against Samsung, accusing it of ripping off Apple patents in its own... There are complicated relationships in the tech industry. And then there is the rocky marriage...

Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok’s U.S. Survival Plan Faces Potential Hurdle: Apple’s App Store Rules

By Juro Osawa · March 1, 2023 7:32 AM PST · 3 comments

TikTok faces a new potential hurdle to overcoming national security concerns in the U.S.: Apple and Google. TikTok, the popular video app owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, has begun talks with Apple and Google to ensure its proposed data security plan doesn’t get derailed by their app store rules, according to a person with direct... TikTok faces a new potential hurdle to overcoming national security concerns in the U.S.: Apple...

The People With Power at TikTok Owner ByteDance

By Juro Osawa · Feb. 23, 2023 6:00 AM PST · 5 comments

When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress next month, he’s likely to face heated questions about the app’s Chinese ownership. TikTok has taken steps to distance itself from its parent, ByteDance, but a close look at the Chinese tech giant’s management structure shows how closely integrated TikTok remains. Most... When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress next month, he’s likely to face...

Art by Clark Miller

TikTok Turns to New Tactics to Spur Growth as Boom Times End

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb. 13, 2023 6:00 AM PST · 1 comment

Early last year, TikTok was on top of the world. It had temporarily dethroned Google as the most visited website on the internet, and competitors such as Instagram and YouTube were scrambling to mimic the short video clips that made TikTok a sensation. But at that very moment, inside TikTok, the app’s leaders were putting their heads... Early last year, TikTok was on top of the world. It had temporarily dethroned Google as the most...

Attendees at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in June 2018. Photo by Bloomberg.

Meta’s Twitch Competitor Cuts Contracts With Gaming Creators

By Mahira Dayal · Jan. 30, 2023 6:00 AM PST

Attendees at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in June 2018. Photo by Bloomberg.

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Meta’s Twitch Competitor Cuts Contracts With Gaming Creators

By Mahira Dayal · Jan. 30, 2023 6:00 AM PST

Since 2018, Meta Platforms has paid videogamers to stream their play on Facebook’s gaming service, its alternative to Twitch. Now, in a new era of austerity, Meta is cutting back on those payments. Facebook Gaming in the second half of last year dropped its contracts with at least 200 creators that paid them to spend time streaming on the... Since 2018, Meta Platforms has paid videogamers to stream their play on Facebook’s gaming...

Neil Shen. Photo by Bloomberg.

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Sequoia Capital China Chief Leaves Beijing’s Top Political Advisory Body

By Shai Oster and Juro Osawa · Jan. 20, 2023 4:06 AM PST · 4 comments

Neil Shen, the head of Sequoia Capital’s hugely successful Chinese arm, is no longer a member of Beijing’s top political advisory body, raising questions about his relationship with the Chinese government. His absence comes at a time when Sequoia Capital China is navigating a sensitive environment amid growing geopolitical tensions... Neil Shen, the head of Sequoia Capital’s hugely successful Chinese arm, is no longer a...

Photo by Getty Images

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VC’s $8 Billion ByteDance Headache

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan. 17, 2023 5:00 PM PST · 2 comments

Amid all the crises venture capitalists are facing, there’s one that deserves more attention and it centers on a number: $8 billion. That's roughly the amount of money investors like Sequoia, Susquehanna International Group, Coatue Management and Tiger Global Management have poured into TikTok owner ByteDance—money that is largely locked up... Amid all the crises venture capitalists are facing, there’s one that deserves more attention and...

Photo: Bloomberg

Creator Economy

TikTok’s Leadership Ties to China; Influencers at Davos

By Mahira Dayal · Jan. 17, 2023 2:24 PM PST

For the past two years, TikTok has been positioning itself as an entity with decision-making that’s independent from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, as it tries to convince U.S. lawmakers that China’s government will not access American user data or use the app to influence Americans. The app has had mixed success placating U.S. security... For the past two years, TikTok has been positioning itself as an entity with decision-making that...

A ByteDance employee at the entrance to a ByteDance office in Beijing. Photo by Getty Images.

TikTok’s E-Commerce Management Structure Undercuts Claims of Autonomy From China

By Juro Osawa · Jan. 17, 2023 6:00 AM PST · 2 comments

A ByteDance employee at the entrance to a ByteDance office in Beijing. Photo by Getty Images.

TikTok’s E-Commerce Management Structure Undercuts Claims of Autonomy From China

By Juro Osawa · Jan. 17, 2023 6:00 AM PST · 2 comments

The new head of TikTok’s important push into e-commerce in the U.S. answers directly to a boss at the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, bypassing TikTok’s own CEO. The previously unreported structure could undercut TikTok’s efforts to convince Washington lawmakers that it can operate independently from ByteDance. Sandie... The new head of TikTok’s important push into e-commerce in the U.S. answers directly to a...

ByteDance's Beijing headquarters. Photo by Getty.

TikTok Parent ByteDance’s E-Commerce Volume Surged in 2022, Internal Data Show

By Juro Osawa · Jan. 9, 2023 2:13 PM PST

TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is making inroads in e-commerce. Consumers in China last year spent 1.41 trillion yuan, or $208 billion, buying things on ByteDance’s Douyin video app, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, an increase of 76% from 2021, according to two people with knowledge of the internal data. Meanwhile,... TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is making inroads in e-commerce. Consumers in...

Art by Clark Miller. All photos courtesy Josh Wolfe/Lux Capital

venture capital

Josh Wolfe’s War: The Lux Capital Founder Blazes a Controversial Path in Defense Tech

By Margaux MacColl · Jan. 6, 2023 9:21 AM PST · 7 comments

Josh Wolfe arrived at a remote island in the Philippines by inflatable boat, surrounded by men with large guns. It was 2019 and the founding partner of the New York venture firm Lux Capital was on a very strange work trip. Over the course of two weeks, American soldiers escorted Wolfe through the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and... Josh Wolfe arrived at a remote island in the Philippines by inflatable boat, surrounded by men...

The New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg

Pinduoduo and Other U.S.-Listed Chinese Tech Stocks Cancel Plans to List in Hong Kong

By Juro Osawa · Dec. 28, 2022 12:03 PM PST

Major New York-listed Chinese tech stocks are dropping plans to also list their shares in Hong Kong, signaling the companies no longer feel the need to hedge against future regulatory conflicts between the U.S. and China. Nasdaq-listed e-commerce firm Pinduoduo, which has a market capitalization of $100 billion, has put discussions about a... Major New York-listed Chinese tech stocks are dropping plans to also list their shares in Hong...

A TSMC chip factory in Taiwan. Photo via TSMC

A Chip Party to Lift Apple’s Spirits

By Nick Wingfield · Dec. 27, 2022 5:00 PM PST

A TSMC chip factory in Taiwan. Photo via TSMC

A Chip Party to Lift Apple’s Spirits

By Nick Wingfield · Dec. 27, 2022 5:00 PM PST

There’s going to be a party in Taiwan on Thursday—and not a moment too soon for Apple’s sake. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the chipmaking wizard, is having an event to celebrate the start of mass production of chips using a cutting-edge technique called the 3-nanometer process. Using the new technique, TSMC will be able to jam more... There’s going to be a party in Taiwan on Thursday—and not a moment too soon for Apple’s sake....

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