Bytedance

ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese multinational technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming, headquartered in Beijing. The company develops content platforms that rely on artificial intelligence to recommend personalized content to users. Its most widely known products are TikTok, a short-form video app for global audiences, and Douyin, its Chinese counterpart; the two apps share technology but operate on separate servers and app stores. Other major products include Toutiao, a personalized news feed; Xigua Video, a video platform; and various productivity and education tools.

History: ByteDance was launched in 2012 as a startup focusing on news aggregation and quickly expanded through AI-powered content distribution. In 2017 ByteDance acquired Musical.ly and merged it with TikTok in 2018, helping drive international growth.

Business model and technology: ByteDance primarily monetizes through advertising revenue within its apps; it also pursues in-app purchases and enterprise tools. The company emphasizes large-scale machine-learning algorithms to curate content streams, which has been central to its rapid user growth but has drawn regulatory scrutiny over data privacy and content moderation.

Corporate structure and leadership: ByteDance is privately owned, with founder Zhang Yiming playing a key role in strategy. In 2021 he announced that he would step back from day-to-day management; Liang Rubo was named CEO to oversee operations while Zhang remained as chairman.

Global footprint and regulation: ByteDance operates in more than 150 markets with offices worldwide. Regulatory scrutiny has increased in several jurisdictions over data privacy, national security and content moderation, particularly regarding TikTok. The company has pursued measures such as data localization and transparent governance practices.