TOPIC

/ company

ByteDance

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ByteDance

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ByteDance is best known as the owner of the global short-video and shopping platform TikTok. It also operates the similar Douyin app in China. Both apps have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, especially among younger people. ByteDance has been the focus of strained relations between China and the West, with policymakers in the US, Canada and Europe expressing concern that TikTok's Chinese ownership puts sensitive user data within reach of the Chinese government.

Chairman / President

Rubo Liang

CEO / Managing Director

Zhang Yiming

CFO / Finance Director

Julie Gao

Industry

IT / Tech / Telecoms

Website

bytedance.com

Headquarters address

Haidian, Beijing, China

Year founded

2012

ByteDance

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While the US has a lead in frontier AI, China’s advantage stems from distributing services through platforms tailored to local habits.

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Employees at Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance all report tightening token policies, with some staff asked to co-pay to use US AI models.

Chinese researchers chart 5-stage path toward ‘last AI built by humans’

Automating AI research has emerged as a battleground, though US firms have an early lead due to superior access to compute resources.

A ploy to entrench US lead? China pushes back on calls for slowdown in AI

Chinese researchers say a slowdown would protect established US incumbents while freezing latecomers out of the market.

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For China’s 250 million individual investors, AI is helping them make money from one of the world’s most volatile stock markets.

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QoderWake tool now lets users create assistants that can function within office communication platforms from rivals, as well as Alibaba’s.

From ‘slop’ to prime time: how AI dramas are shaking up China’s TV industry

Fully AI-generated, 30-episode Journey to the West series debuts, as shifting production economics transform the industry.

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As Chinese tech giants ramp up artificial intelligence spending, TikTok’s parent company is set to expand data centres in Ulanqab.

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Models from Alibaba, MiniMax and ByteDance currently dominate benchmark rankings on industry evaluation platform Artificial Analysis.

Brazil fines TikTok record US$30 million for profiting from children’s data

ByteDance penalised for allegedly collecting data from 1 in 5 Brazilian children and failing to block minors from using TikTok.

UK police arrest 12 after deadly wrong-way crash that killed 7

Police have denied the collision on Saturday was linked to filming for the TikTok online platform.

TikTok, ByteDance agree to US$400 million settlement with US government

TikTok will pay US$300 million immediately and an additional US$100 million after entering an order vacating a prior consent decree.

Baidu’s AI surge fails to stem quarterly revenue decline

Helping cushion the fall, revenue from AI-related operations jumped 25 per cent year on year to 12.5 billion yuan.

Alibaba sheds gaming business Lingxi to double down on AI and e-commerce

The landmark deal sees Citic Capital’s private equity arm acquiring the unit famous for strategy game Three Kingdoms Tactics.

How AI is helping to open a new chapter for ancient Chinese literature

The technology is being used for everything from digitising rare manuscripts to helping break down barriers to understanding classical texts.

US lifts TikTok ban on government devices after ByteDance restructuring

Justice Department says the app’s new US joint venture is no longer covered by the 2022 prohibition targeting app’s Chinese parent company.

US court rules tech firms must face lawsuits over social media addiction

The lawsuits allege that companies including TikTok and Meta intentionally addicted young users, contributing to a ⁠mental health crisis.

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Chinese brands like Pop Mart are winning over American consumers by projecting a global image and targeting niche markets.

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Tencent ramps up overseas AI push with wider roll-out of flagship Hy3 model

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H3 model enters the generative video battleground, but licensing carve-outs restrict use in US, EU, UK and South Korea.

Exclusive | ByteDance to expand massive AI data centre cluster in Inner Mongolia: source