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

Doubao has emerged as the main AI tool for generating pornographic deepfakes in China, according to a feminist media collective. Photo: Shutterstock

Women and gender

‘Digital public shaming’: Chinese AI tools under fire for pornographic deepfakes

Grass-roots group warns AI platforms have ‘sacrificed women’s right to safety’ as non-consensual sexualised images proliferate.

26 Feb 2026 - 6:38PMvideocam

TikTok

ByteDance valuation said to hit record US$550 billion in proposed equity sale

25 Feb 2026 - 8:00PM

ByteDance

(字节跳动)

‘Digital public shaming’: Chinese AI tools under fire for pornographic deepfakes

Grass-roots group warns AI platforms have ‘sacrificed women’s right to safety’ as non-consensual sexualised images proliferate.

ByteDance valuation said to hit record US$550 billion in proposed equity sale

China’s MiniMax, Moonshot top AI token use ranking, ending year of US dominance

AI apps soar in China as Lunar New Year giveaway battle boosts user growth

Tech firms score win as AI assistants become part of holiday consumption – from buying food and booking travel to planning entertainment.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | Humans vs robots? China begs to disagree

As China embraces humanoid robots, policymakers and companies are expanding the scope of innovation and applications in daily life.

China’s tech giants pursue AI, semiconductor talent in US amid fierce rivalry

ByteDance, Baidu, Alibaba Cloud and MiniMax are among the firms now actively recruiting fresh talent in the US.

Why China’s tech giants cannot afford to lose the global AI race

AI rivalry is challenging the traditional strategies of China’s ‘big tech’ firms and how they have monetised their products in the past.

China’s extreme 996 work schedule meets US tech’s hustle culture

Why advocates believe 996, the controversial 9am to 9pm, six-day-a-week culture popularised in China, can give American firms decisive edge.

How Chinese AI put a new spin on Winter Olympics action

Chinese tech firms have been using the Milano Cortina Games to showcase their capabilities to a global audience.

The next interface race: how AI is bringing smart glasses into focus

LLVision CEO Wu Fei explains how advances in AI and hardware are pushing smart glasses closer to everyday use.

China’s tech giants report huge gains from Spring Festival marketing blitz

ByteDance’s viral video generation model Seedance 2.0 was closely integrated with the Spring Festival gala’s programming on Monday night.

Colour matters: how AI is changing car premiums and services in China

Car colour, driving habits and location influence insurance premiums, according to a digital solutions provider using ByteDance’s AI model.

Chinese e-commerce giant Shein could face EU ban over ‘childlike sex dolls’

Investigation will also look at the systems the online retailer uses to ensure illegal products are not being sold in Europe.

Humanoids go mainstream as China’s robotics champions appear at CCTV spectacle

ByteDance, Unitree, RedNote, Bilibili and Kuaishou among the firms involved in the unparalleled nationwide marketing opportunity.

ByteDance ‘strengthening safeguards’ after Seedance AI video controversy

Pledge comes after Hollywood, governments speak out against tool amid deluge of video clips featuring celebrities, copyrighted characters.

Why cooling is the new chips: China pivots to AI’s heat challenge

Chinese manufacturers are moving aggressively into liquid-cooling technologies as hyperscalers expand data-centre infrastructure.

Beijing warns tech giants to curb ‘involution’ amid AI giveaway war

Companies should ‘uphold a fair and competitive’ environment to ‘foster innovation and healthy development’, regulator says.

The AI future is now, and markets are reacting differently in the US and China

Investor jitters grow in the US as AI reshapes expectations, but China’s markets have so far reacted with caution rather than panic.

Hollywood shaken by Brad Pitt-Tom Cruise fight video made with Chinese AI

The viral clip was generated with a two-line prompt on Seedance 2.0, a platform owned by ByteDance, the company behind TikTok.

Mercedes to accelerate localisation as China revenue slump hits 2025 profits

Despite a weak outlook, the company unveils a strategy to further localise production in China, introduce AI-based upgrades and launch new models.

China’s Zhipu AI launches new major model GLM-5 in challenge to its rivals

The GLM-5 represents a shift in AI development from ‘vibe coding’ to ‘agentic engineering’ to generate an enhanced performance.

ByteDance joins Chinese rivals offering freebies in bid to acquire AI app users

TikTok parent plans to give more than 100,000 tech products as gifts, as well as red packets through lucky draws on the Doubao app.

China’s ByteDance, Alibaba unveil AI image tools to rival Google’s popular Nano Banana

The tech giants’ new image models lower the barrier for individual users or businesses to produce professional-looking images.

Editorial | China could benefit from AI disruption to software-as-a-service sector

It seems likely the AI industry will simply swallow up the SaaS sector in China without too much financial or employment damage.

ByteDance’s new model sparks stock rally as China’s AI video battle escalates

Seedance 2.0 thrills early adopters with cinematic realism and fuels debate over AI’s role in filmmaking and content creation.

My Take | TikTok deal good for Chinese owners but terrible for users in the United States

The social media platform, now majority owned by Americans, will herald a new era of state control and corporate manipulation of US citizens.

US software rout spills over to China’s SaaS sector

The software sector in China has long been constrained by slower cloud adoption and a weaker appetite for recurring subscription fees.

Sweet surge: Qwen overtakes Yuanbao after Alibaba’s bubble tea campaign

More than 10 million free orders put Alibaba’s AI app in the spotlight amid a high-stakes battle for Spring Festival attention.

Opinion | Humans vs robots? China begs to disagree