ByteDance

ByteDance is a Beijing-based company that operates some of the world’s most popular social media platforms, including TikTok and Douyin. Founded in 2012, the company has quickly grown into one of the largest and most innovative technology firms globally, with a focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Notable executives include founder Zhang Yiming, CEO Liang Rubo and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. ByteDance has recently faced scrutiny from governments and competitors over data privacy and national security concerns. Despite these challenges, the company remains a major player in the global technology industry, with a growing footprint in markets around the world.

Recent Articles about ByteDance
SpaceX, Strava, Verkada and Crusoe are 2026 IPO contenders. Photos via Getty.
Deals

Nine Tech IPO Contenders to Watch This Year

By Valida Pau · Jan 16, 2026 6:00am PST · 3 comments
Initial public offering listings rebounded last year, though their performance—and a government shutdown—held back some startups’ plans. Now investors are gearing up for a blockbuster IPO year, thanks to an expected listing of SpaceX as well as a smattering of older startups, such as Discord and Strava, that are finally making... Initial public offering listings rebounded last year, though their performance—and a...
MrBeast. Victoria Sirakova/Getty Images.
The Briefing

Bitmine’s Switch From Ether to MrBeast

By Yueqi Yang · Jan 15, 2026 5:00pm PST · 1 comment
Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for ether tokens, woke up to some surprising news today. Bitmine is investing $200 million in Beast Industries, the company of MrBeast, the No.1 YouTuber. He’s known for making viral videos, not for his interest in ether. The investment is what you... Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for...
Photo via Shutterstock
AI Agenda

Thinking Machines’ Personnel Shake-Up; ServiceNow Is Still Hiring Young Engineers, in Part Thanks to AI

By Rocket Drew · Jan 15, 2026 7:00am PST · 1 comment
We had more drama in AI land on Wednesday night, as several people exited Thinking Machines Lab, the high-profile startup cofounded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, for OpenAI. Details remain murky but here’s what we know for sure. On Wednesday night, Murati said in a post on X that the company had “parted ways” with ... We had more drama in AI land on Wednesday night, as several people exited Thinking Machines Lab,...
Outside ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters. Getty Images.
Why ByteDance’s Stock Should Rise After TikTok Deal Closes
By Anita Ramaswamy and Jing Yang · Jan 15, 2026 6:00am PST · 1 comment
Outside ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters. Getty Images.
True Value

Why ByteDance’s Stock Should Rise After TikTok Deal Closes

By Anita Ramaswamy and Jing Yang · Jan 15, 2026 6:00am PST · 1 comment
In the group of highly valued tech companies that have remained private, SpaceX and China’s ByteDance may be the biggest. But SpaceX has already signaled it will go public this year. And now that ByteDance has resolved the yearslong fight over its TikTok app in the U.S., the way may be clear for the Chinese tech giant to go public in the next... In the group of highly valued tech companies that have remained private, SpaceX and China’s...
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad. XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty.
The Briefing

Nvidia’s China Business Still Hostage to Geopolitics

By Martin Peers · Jan 7, 2026 5:00pm PST
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang must feel like a child whose parents are perpetually at war. Weeks after he glimpsed a chance to resume sales of AI chips to China—thanks to approval from President Donald Trump—China has said, “Not so fast.” As our Hong Kong reporter Qianer Liu scooped today, the Chinese government has asked local tech companies to... Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang must feel like a child whose parents are perpetually at war. Weeks after...
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Art by Clark Miller
Predictions

What We Got Right (and Wrong) in Our Predictions for 2025

By The Information Staff · Jan 2, 2026 10:34am PST · 3 comments
What’s that smell? It’s the whiff of humble pie being eaten by The Information’s prognosticators. A year ago, we made a series of predictions about tech deals that would get done, executives who would leave their companies and other events that we thought might happen in 2025. Many of those predictions did not come to pass. In our defense, when... What’s that smell? It’s the whiff of humble pie being eaten by The Information’s prognosticators....
Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images, Blue Origin.
Predictions

Sutskever’s Fate, OpenAI’s Next Deal, A Hit Robot—and 13 Other Predictions for 2026

By The Information Staff · Jan 2, 2026 9:00am PST · 13 comments
No one in Silicon Valley gets wealthy or powerful by dwelling on the past. Rather, the brightest minds within tech often outshine the competition by obsessing about the future. We like to get in on the game too. In keeping with annual tradition, we’re publishing below our best educated guesses on what’ll happen in 2026: what Microsoft buys, what... No one in Silicon Valley gets wealthy or powerful by dwelling on the past. Rather, the brightest...
Getty Images
How Artificial Intelligence Will Change in 2026
By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 31, 2025 7:00am PST
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AI Agenda

How Artificial Intelligence Will Change in 2026

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 31, 2025 7:00am PST
Welcome to the last AI Agenda issue of 2025! Lots went down this year (check out yesterday’s newsletter for a full recap), and we expect things to get even crazier in 2026. Welcome to the last AI Agenda issue of 2025! Lots went down this year (check out yesterday’s ...
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Chen Yongnuo/CNS/VCG via Getty Images.
AI Agenda

Two IPO-Bound AI Model Developers Reveal Their Losses

By Juro Osawa · Dec 24, 2025 7:00am PST
Two Chinese AI startups are vying to be the first publicly traded AI model providers in the global stock market, ahead of expected future initial public offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. The Chinese firms’ IPO filings offer a window into the hardship facing smaller AI firms that don’t have older cash-cow businesses.Shanghai-based MiniMax... Two Chinese AI startups are vying to be the first publicly traded AI model providers in the...
Judge Amit Mehta. Getty Images.
The Briefing

Tech's Big Winners of 2025: Google, Musk and ByteDance

By Martin Peers · Dec 21, 2025 3:00pm PST
We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make up for the relative lack of news!). Let’s start with Google’s amazing turnaround in 2025. Not only did it emerge mostly unscathed from the antitrust litigation regarding search, it made a giant leap forward in the AI market. Conspiracy theorists will... We’re heading into the holidays, when a look back at 2025 seems natural (and a good way to make...
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Disney CEO Bob Iger. Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The Briefing

OpenAI’s Mickey Mouse Deal

By Martin Peers · Dec 11, 2025 5:00pm PST · 1 comment
When you’re on your back foot, as OpenAI has lately been, what better way is there to take the offense than to announce a Mickey Mouse deal? Take OpenAI’s  partnership with Walt Disney Co., unveiled on Thursday morning. Disney will make a $1 billion equity investment in the ChatGPT creator and will license 200 characters from its film and... When you’re on your back foot, as OpenAI has lately been, what better way is there to take the...
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Disney-OpenAI; AI Startup Valuations Keep Falling as Revenue Rises
By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 11, 2025 8:34am PST
Getty Images
AI Agenda

Disney-OpenAI; AI Startup Valuations Keep Falling as Revenue Rises

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Dec 11, 2025 8:34am PST
Before we get to today’s column, we have to mention Disney and OpenAI’s big partnership announcement this morning. As part of a new three-year licensing agreement, OpenAI’s video app Sora and ChatGPT will be able to generate image and video content that includes characters such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Mickey Mouse and Iron Man from... Before we get to today’s column, we have to mention Disney and OpenAI’s big partnership...
Photo by Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Exclusive

Tencent Poaches ByteDance Researchers as China AI Race Heats Up

By Juro Osawa, Qianer Liu and Jing Yang · Dec 11, 2025 5:00am PST · 1 comment
Throughout the past couple of years, as AI fever swept China’s technology sector, one giant—Tencent—seemed to mostly be sitting on the sidelines. The company, which owns the hugely popular WeChat app, didn’t seem enthusiastic to win a fierce race in the country to develop cutting-edge AI models, competing with the likes of DeepSeek,... Throughout the past couple of years, as AI fever swept China’s technology sector, one...
Art by Clark Miller.
Exclusive

China Weighs Nvidia Chip Purchase in Emergency Meetings With Tech Companies

By Qianer Liu · Dec 10, 2025 2:00am PST
China on Wednesday gathered its biggest tech giants to discuss whether to allow them to buy Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips, as President Donald Trump’s recent decision to allow the export of the powerful hardware to the country suddenly complicated Beijing’s goal to become technologically self-sufficient. Officials convened a series of emergency... China on Wednesday gathered its biggest tech giants to discuss whether to allow them to buy...