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
Art via Mike Sullivan
Exclusive

U.S. Loses Appeal for Chinese AI Researchers

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Sep 24, 2025 6:00am PDT
The U.S. artificial intelligence sector is so crowded with Chinese researchers that some joke the global AI race is between two groups of Chinese—those in the U.S. and those in China. That joke may soon feel a bit stale. A growing number of Chinese AI researchers and doctorate students in the U.S. are seriously considering moving back to... The U.S. artificial intelligence sector is so crowded with Chinese researchers that some joke the...
Jensen Huang, left, and Sam Altman. Photos via Getty
The Briefing

Nvidia Pays OpenAI to Buy Its Chips

By Martin Peers · Sep 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments
OpenAI loves to make grand announcements. Earlier this year we had the hoopla about its Stargate data center venture, worth up to $500 billion. Today the ChatGPT creator announced a letter of intent to form a strategic partnership with Nvidia to “build and deploy” artificial intelligence data centers holding “millions” of Nvidia’s AI chips. To... OpenAI loves to make grand announcements. Earlier this year we had the hoopla about its Stargate...
Photo via Getty

TikTok U.S.’s New Investor Lineup Remains In Flux

By Jing Yang and Cory Weinberg · Sep 18, 2025 1:37pm PDT · 1 comment
If President Donald Trump and Chinese premier Xi Jinping wrap up a deal for a U.S.-controlled investor group to buy TikTok U.S. on Friday, the next stage of the deal will begin—figuring out the final lineup of the investor consortium. Oracle and Silver Lake are widely reported to be among a group of new investors buying into a newly... If President Donald Trump and Chinese premier Xi Jinping wrap up a deal for a U.S.-controlled...
From left: Adam Presser, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Shou Chew. Photos via Getty
What We Do and Don’t Know About the TikTok Deal
By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 17, 2025 11:44am PDT · 4 comments
From left: Adam Presser, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Shou Chew. Photos via Getty

What We Do and Don’t Know About the TikTok Deal

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Sep 17, 2025 11:44am PDT · 4 comments
The long-awaited sale of TikTok’s U.S. business appears headed to a final resolution this week after China and the U.S. agreed to the framework for a deal during trade talks in Spain. A Chinese government official confirmed that China has agreed to let TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, license the TikTok algorithm—which dictates what users see... The long-awaited sale of TikTok’s U.S. business appears headed to a final resolution this week...
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The Briefing

Why TikTok America’s Growth Could Surge

By Martin Peers · Sep 16, 2025 5:00pm PDT
Our long international nightmare may soon be over. Both China and the U.S. seem to be in agreement about the terms under which TikTok U.S. will be sold to a new company majority-owned by Americans, judging by a statement overnight from a Chinese government official. We don’t know the details, including the full investor lineup in the new TikTok,... Our long international nightmare may soon be over. Both China and the U.S. seem to be in...
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty
AI Agenda

OpenAI’s Spending Spree is Reordering the Cloud Market

By Amir Efrati · Sep 11, 2025 7:00am PDT
When OpenAI two months ago agreed to rent an unfathomably large amount of data center capacity from Oracle (4.5 gigawatts, or enough to power several large cities), we thought the market would have priced in the eventual mammoth revenue from that publicly announced deal. We were wrong.On Tuesday, Oracle disclosed that computing contracts would... When OpenAI two months ago agreed to rent an unfathomably large amount of data center capacity...
Art via Mike Sullivan
Exclusive

DeepSeek Opts for Huawei Chips to Train Some Models

By Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · Aug 29, 2025 6:00am PDT
DeepSeek, one of China’s leading artificial intelligence developers, has decided to use Huawei Technologies’ AI chips to train some of its AI models, a sign it is reducing its reliance on Nvidia chips, according to three people with knowledge of the effort. The move follows pressure by the Chinese government on local tech companies to use... DeepSeek, one of China’s leading artificial intelligence developers, has decided to use Huawei...
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The Lessons of Google’s Ad Tech Business
By Martin Peers · Aug 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT
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The Briefing

The Lessons of Google’s Ad Tech Business

By Martin Peers · Aug 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT
Every day this week, we and other close watchers of Google have been holding our breath, waiting for Judge Amit Mehta of the federal court in Washington to issue a ruling on how Google’s illegal search monopoly should be remedied. Options include a forced divestiture of its Chrome browser (where many Google searches originate), ending Google’s... Every day this week, we and other close watchers of Google have been holding our breath, waiting...
YouTuber Dhar Mann. Photo: Dhar Mann Studios
Creator Economy

The Dizzying Rise of Dhar Mann

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 27, 2025 2:18pm PDT
In early June, I pulled up to a giant lot in Burbank, Calif. about four miles down the road from Warner Brothers Studios, where “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory” were filmed. I was there to tour the set and offices where YouTuber Dhar Mann runs a growing entertainment empire.Mann, who leases the 125,000 square foot production studio, part of... In early June, I pulled up to a giant lot in Burbank, Calif. about four miles down the road from...
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

How Snap Can Turn on the Creator Spigot

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug 26, 2025 1:12pm PDT
Where does Snap go from here? The nearly fourteen-year-old company is struggling to grow its ad business, particularly compared to larger Meta Platforms and Google’s YouTube. At the same time, CEO Evan Spiegel remains laser focused on his long-time, big bet: the company’s augmented reality glasses, Spectacles. To keep funding the AR project,... Where does Snap go from here? The nearly fourteen-year-old company is struggling to grow its ad...
Neil Shen, founding partner of HongShan. Photo via Getty
Exclusive

Neil Shen’s HongShan Is Slow to Deploy Its $9 Billion Capital, Looks for Deals Outside China

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Aug 26, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
When venture capital giant Sequoia decided to carve off Sequoia China two years ago in response to growing tensions between the U.S. and China, the newly independent China firm was expected to continue pouring its huge funds into Chinese startups. Renamed HongShan (Mandarin for Sequoia), the firm had only a year earlier raised what was then a... When venture capital giant Sequoia decided to carve off Sequoia China two years ago in response...