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☆ A Trove of ByteDance Records Mistakenly Went Public. Here’s What They Say.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Mara Hvistendahl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Somehow, thousands of pages of sealed court documents relating to the birth of TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, were mistakenly released by a Pennsylvania court. The documents — emails, chat transcripts and memos — are a fascinating window into ByteDance’s origins. They also tell a new version of the ByteDance origin story, one with fits and starts on the way to becoming one of the world’s most highly valued start-ups. The ByteDance origin story, as we know it, has the ring of Silicon Valley lore. As the story goes, the company’s founder, Zhang Yiming, sketched out the idea on a napkin for an employee of a Susquehanna subsidiary in 2012.

Persons: Jeff Yass, ByteDance, Zhang Yiming Organizations: Susquehanna International Group, Republican, Susquehanna Locations: Pennsylvania

☆ How an Obscure Chinese Real Estate Start-Up Paved the Way to TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Mara Hvistendahl | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2009, long before Jeff Yass became a Republican megadonor, his firm, Susquehanna International Group, invested in a Chinese real estate start-up that boasted a sophisticated search algorithm. Behind the scenes, employees of a Chinese subsidiary of Mr. Yass’s firm were so deeply involved, records show, that they conceived the idea for the company and handpicked its chief executive. They said in one email that he was not the company’s “real founder.”As a real estate venture, 99Fang ultimately fizzled. They say that 99Fang’s chief executive — and the search technology — resurfaced at another Susquehanna venture: ByteDance. ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is now one of the world’s most highly valued start-ups, worth $225 billion, according to CB Insights, a firm that tracks venture capital.

Persons: Jeff Yass, Republican megadonor, 99Fang, Yass’s, —, Zhang Yiming Organizations: Republican, Susquehanna International Group, Mr, Susquehanna Locations: ByteDance

☆ TikTok: Is it really Chinese?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Is TikTok Chinese? In March 2023, CEO Chew was repeatedly pressed by US lawmakers on whether TikTok was Chinese. According to TikTok’s own website, its subsidiaries around the world are all structured under Bytedance Ltd.Is ByteDance Chinese? At last year’s congressional hearing, Chew didn’t directly answer any questions about whether ByteDance is a Chinese company either. That means the Chinese government now owns 1% of Beijing Douyin Information Service, which is the domestic Chinese unit of Bytedance.

Persons: TikTok, Shou Chew, Trump, Chew, Jose Luis Magana, Musical.ly, TikTok’s, ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, Liang Rubo, Zhang, Liang, Jinri, Chew didn’t, Shannon Stapleton, Zhang Fuping, Xi Jinping, Wu Shugang, Shu Yuting Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, TikTok LLC, TikTok Ltd, ByteDance Ltd, Bytedance Ltd, Tianjin’s Nankai University, ByteDance, Carlyle Group, General Atlantic, Susquehanna International Group, Reuters, Communist, Cyberspace Administration, Beijing Douyin Information Service, Chinese Communist Party, National Intelligence Law, Commerce Ministry Locations: China, Hong Kong, United States, Beijing, California, Los Angles, Singapore, Delaware, Culver City , California, Cayman Islands, Shanghai, Chinese, TikTok

WASHINGTON (AP) — If some U.S. lawmakers have their way, the United States and China could end up with something in common: TikTok might not be available in either country. But while U.S. lawmakers associate TikTok with China, the company, headquartered outside China, has strategically kept its distance from its homeland. Since its inception, the TikTok platform has been intended for non-Chinese markets and is unavailable in mainland China. Some have insisted they be called “global companies” instead of “Chinese companies.”But for TikTok, this may not be enough. “America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States.

Persons: TikTok, Joe Biden, Zhiqun Zhu, ” Zhu, Alex Capri, Hinrich, ” Capri, Capri, Zhang Yiming, Mike Gallagher, ”, Gallagher, “, Sen, Tom Cotton, Shou Zi Chew, beholden, Chew, Nancy Pelosi, ” Chew, Thomas Zhang, Zhang, It's, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: WASHINGTON, Bucknell University, “, National University of Singapore, Hinrich Foundation, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Communist, Wired, Republicans Locations: United States, China, Beijing, Hong Kong, U.S, Washington, there's, Chinese, Chew

☆ Ex-Activision CEO Bobby Kotick pitched buying TikTok to potential partners, including Sam Altman: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Bobby Kotick, the former chief of gaming giant Activision, wants to buy TikTok. He's floated the idea to ByteDance cofounder Zhang Yiming and OpenAI's Sam Altman, the WSJ reports. A proposed bill gaining steam in Congress would force TikTok to sell to a US entity or shut down. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementBobby Kotick, the former CEO of gaming giant Activision, may see TikTok as his next act — that is, if a controversial bill making its way through Congress becomes law.

Persons: Bobby Kotick, He's, Zhang Yiming, OpenAI's Sam Altman, TikTok, —, Kotick Organizations: Activision, Service, Microsoft, Street Journal, Business

☆ TikTok leaders are pretty surprised that a bill to ban TikTok is zooming through Congress: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA bill to ban TikTok in the US is speeding through Congress and has caught the social media platform off guard, The Wall Street Journal reported. A TikTok spokesperson told Business Insider it expects the bill to pass, saying it had a "predetermined outcome." Others, like former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, have also weighed in, expressing their opposition to a TikTok ban. The movement to ban TikTok in the US has been pushed by legislators who believe the company will hand over user data to the Chinese government. AdvertisementIn response to the House bill, TikTok went on the offensive and urged its users to contact their representatives to let them know they opposed it.

Persons: —, Mike Gallagher, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Joe Biden, Biden, Rand Paul, Lindsay Graham, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Paul, TikTok, Sen, Ed Markey, Bobby Kotick, ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, Kotick, Sam Altman Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Republican Rep, Democratic Rep, Business, House Energy, Commerce, Senate, Associated Press, Elon, Google, Big Tech, Activision, Journal, Kotick, BI Locations: Wisconsin, Illinois, United States, TikTok

☆ ByteDance says committed to VR business Pico after report of it shutting brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The statement came after Chinese research firm EqualOcean published a report saying that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming told Pico's management team ByteDance would gradually give up on the Pico business. Pico is under normal operation and the company will continue to invest in the extended reality (XR) business over the long term," ByteDance said in a statement shared with Reuters. The Pico headsets are often seen as ByteDance's answer to the popular Quest headsets developed by Meta Platforms Inc (META.O). Pico has the biggest market share for VR headsets in China, accounting for over 58% of the market, as Meta's Quest devices have yet to enter the country officially. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Pico has increased its headset shipments last year while Meta's headset shipments declined.

Persons: Aly, ByteDance, EqualOcean, Zhang Yiming, Pico's, Pico, Bytedance, Josh Ye, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, XR, Meta Platforms Inc, Street Journal, IDC, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Pico

☆ TikTok ban is the least palatable of options
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Montana is following a movement around the United States to try to keep Americans from using TikTok. That has consequences: The United States has never pulled a platform used by so many people to communicate. China, which before TikTok had never cracked the U.S. market with a successful social media network, is unlikely to let ByteDance part with TikTok. More recently the company had been working with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to ease concerns. TikTok users in the United States could still binge on short videos, but the company – and its rivals – would face tougher constraints.

☆ Meet China's 10 richest tech billionaires, from the CEO of ByteDance to the 'Steve Jobs of China'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

ByteDance's founder is the richest tech billionaire in China. These are the 10 richest Chinese billionaires in tech, per Bloomberg's 2023 Billionaire Index. He is one of many Chinese billionaires who got rich from starting successful tech giants. These Chinese billionaires are also navigating policies in their own country. From the CEO of ByteDance to the founder of WeChat, here are the 10 wealthiest Chinese tech billionaires.

☆ TikTok's Chinese owner boosts annual profits to a record $25 billion, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

ByteDance posted a profit of $25 billion last year, the Financial Times reported. The TikTok owner increased its bottom line by almost 80% compared with 2021's $14 billion result. Revenues jumped more than 30% to about $85 billion as advertisers increased their spending on TikTok and its Chinese equivalent called Douyin. ByteDance has been threatened with a US TikTok ban by the Biden administration if it doesn't sell the app. ByteDance did not respond to a request for comment from the Financial Times and didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Both are owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, but Douyin launched before TikTok and became a viral sensation in China. Like TikTok, it’s a short-form video app. Then in 2017, the privately-owned tech company bought a US-based video startup and released TikTok as the overseas version of Douyin. The download page for the TikTok app displayed on an Apple iPhone. Besides TikTok, there’s also shopping app Temu, fast fashion retailer Shein and video editing app CapCut, which is also owned by ByteDance.

☆ It's wild that Western governments have decided that TikTok might spy for China. The app hasn't helped itself.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

TikTok denies it feeds user data to China, but the drip-drip of revelations hasn't helped. The suspicion is that TikTok's owner ByteDance is in cahoots with the Chinese Communist Party and shares data about Western users with China. TikTok has maintained the app doesn't spy on individuals, and has pointed to the steps it's taking to hive off user information. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr responded to Bertram asking if "any member of the CCP accessed non-public US or EU user data from inside China." US social-media services normalized the aggressive harvesting of user data, and routinely hand over information to international governments.

☆ TikTok’s best U.S. charm offensive involves an IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But even if proposed fixes get past federal officials – no sure thing – it still must contend with activist state leaders. That’s problematic, given that trust between Chinese and American government officials is at a low. To make matters worse, ByteDance said late last year that some employees had improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists. More than 40% of American states, including Wisconsin and Texas, have banned the app on government-owned devices. But if an IPO helps TikTok to keep operating in the United States, it’s worth a try.

☆ One of China's biggest retailers is cutting executive pay to create a fund to help lower-level employees buy homes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The e-commerce titan will allocate $1.4 billion to help rank-and-file employees buy homes. The move comes amid China's "common prosperity" campaign to reduce economic inequality in the country. The billionaire's philanthropy is part of China's "common prosperity" campaign to close the income gap and bolster social equality in the country. He brought up the slogan "common prosperity" multiple times in his opening speech, Insider reported. ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming donated 500 million yuan, or $77.3 million, in June of 2021 to Fangmei Education Development Fund, named after Zhang's grandmothers in his hometown of southeastern Longyan city.

☆ China's super-rich see fortunes plunge as economy slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Brenda Goh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - China's super-rich saw their wealth tumble by the most in over two decades this year, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing's zero-COVID measures and falling mainland and Hong Kong stock markets pummelled fortunes, an annual rich list said on Tuesday. The Hurun Rich list, which ranks China's wealthiest people with a minimum net worth of 5 billion yuan ($692 million), said only 1,305 people made the mark this year, down 11% from last year. "This year has seen the biggest fall in the Hurun China Rich List of the last 24 years," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of research firm Hurun Report which compiles the list. The founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, took second place, but saw his wealth fall 28% to $35 billion due to a drop in ByteDance's valuation. Tencent founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth of $14.6 billion amid sliding tech stock prices, to take fifth place on the list.

☆ Alibaba’s Jack Ma and China’s super-rich see billions wiped off fortunes as economy slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

China’s super-rich saw their wealth tumble by the most in over two decades this year, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing’s zero-Covid measures and falling mainland and Hong Kong stock markets pummeled fortunes, according to an annual rich list. Tencent founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth amid sliding tech stock prices. The founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, took second place, but saw his wealth fall 28% to $35 billion due to a drop in ByteDance’s valuation. Tencent (TCEHY) founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth of $14.6 billion amid sliding tech stock prices, to take fifth place on the list. Alibaba (BABA) founder Jack Ma and his family tumbled four places to be ranked No.

☆ China's super-rich like Alibaba's Jack Ma see billions of dollars wiped from their fortunes as the economy slumps
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's super-wealthy have seen their fortunes tumble by the most in 24 years, per the Hurun Rich List. Alibaba founder Jack Ma's net worth dropped 29% to $25.7 billion, as tech bosses took a hit. His ranking on the rich list sank four places to ninth. Overall, the number of people with a net worth of $10 billion dropped by 29 to 56, while the number of dollar billionaires fell by 239 to 946. But Hoogewerf said that despite the declines, the rich list is still 50% bigger than five years ago.

☆ ByteDance plans for maximum of nine board directors -source
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - TikTok owner ByteDance will expand its board of directors to a maximum of nine, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, as the company faces regulatory pressure globally. Shareholders approved the move at an investor meeting on Tuesday, boosting the figure from the previous maximum of five, added the source, who sought anonymity as the information was confidential. The other directors are representatives of General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, and Susquehanna International Group, Reuters has reported. Earlier, citing two unidentified sources, the South China Morning Post had said the company would add four directors to the existing five. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Yingzhi Yang in Beijing and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Orașul cu cei mai mulți miliardari din întreaga lume
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-09 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +2 min

Sursa foto: PixabayOrașul cu cei mai mulți miliardari din întreaga lumeBeijingul găzduiește în prezent mai mulți miliardari decât orice alt oraș din lume, conform listei anuale a miliardarilor întocmită anual de revista Forbes, citată de BBC. Capitala chineză a adăugat anul trecut 33 de miliardari și acum găzduiește 100, depășind New York, care găzduiește 99 de miliardari și a condus clasamentul în ultimii șapte ani, arată publicația. Cei mai mulți miliardari din ChinaChina a adăugat mai mulți miliardari pe listă decât orice altă țară la nivel global, cu 210 nou intrați. În total, cei 1.149 de miliardari din Asia Pacific au valorat 4,7 miliarde de dolari, comparativ cu 4,4 miliarde de dolari pentru americani. Averea sa a crescut cu 64 miliarde dolari, până la 177 miliarde dolari anul trecut.

Persons: Zhang Yiming, ByteDance ., Jeff Organizations: Forbes, BBC, Capitala, Mediafax Locations: New York, Beijing, China, SUA, China China, Chinei, India, Asia Pacific, Amazon

☆ Beijingul are în prezent mai mulți miliardari decât oricare alt oraș din lume. Cine este cel mai bogat rezident al capitalei chineze
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-08 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Beijingul găzduiește în prezent mai mulți miliardari decât oricare alt oraș din lume, conform listei miliardarilor întocmită anual de revista Forbes, scrie BBC, citat de Mediafax și digi24.ro. Capitala chineză a adăugat anul trecut 33 de miliardari și acum găzduiește 100, depășind New York, care găzduiește 99 de miliardari și a condus clasamentul în ultimii șapte ani, arată publicația. Totuși, averea combinată a miliardarilor din New York a rămas cu 80 miliarde de dolari mai mare decât cea a omologilor lor din Beijing. China a adăugat mai mulți miliardari pe listă decât orice altă țară la nivel global, cu 210 nou intrați. Averea sa a crescut cu 64 miliarde dolari, până la 177 miliarde dolari anul trecut.

Persons: Forbes, Zhang Yiming, Jeff Organizations: Forbes, BBC, Mediafax Locations: Beijingul, New York, Beijing, China, Chinei, SUA, India, Asia Pacific, Amazon

☆ Beijing a devenit orașul cu cei mai mulți miliardari din lume. Ce orașe mai sunt în topul Forbes
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-07 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +2 min

Beijing a devenit orașul cu cei mai mulți miliardari din lume. Business Insider notează că bogații au devenit și mai bogați anul trecut, în ciuda pandemiei și a recesiunii economice. La nivel global, 660 de oameni au devenit miliardari în 2020, însumând un total de 2 755 de miliardari la nivel mondial, în dolari americani. Cinci orașe din China se clasează printre cele 10 orașe cu cei mai mulți miliardari, inclusiv regiunea administrativă specială Hong Kong. Beijing (100 de miliardari), cel mai bogat om – Zhang Yiming (35,6 miliarde)2.

Persons: Pandemia, Zhang Yiming, Michael Bloomberg, Colin Zheng Huang, Len Blavatnik, San Francisco, Dustin Moskovitz Organizations: Forbes, San Locations: Beijing, New York, SUA, China, Hong Kong, York City, Kong, Moscova, Shanghai, Londra, Mumbai, Hangzhou

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