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.
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ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. VCG/Getty Images.
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ByteDance’s Founder Rules Out Distillation on AI Models

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Aug 5, 2026 6:19am PDT
ByteDance won’t resort to distillation as a shortcut to advancing its AI model capabilities, even if that means the company lags behind domestic rivals for now, founder Zhang Yiming told employees during a meeting last month. One reason, say people close to the company, is ByteDance’s complicated history with the U.S. government over the... ByteDance won’t resort to distillation as a shortcut to advancing its AI model capabilities, even...
Art by Mike Sullivan.
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Susquehanna, an Early Backer of ByteDance, Is Stepping Back From China Venture Deals

By Juro Osawa and Jing Yang · Jul 10, 2026 6:00am PDT
U.S. investment firm Susquehanna International Group, one of ByteDance’s biggest shareholders, is winding down its China-based venture investment team, another sign of the challenges facing U.S. venture investors operating in China. SIG China’s managing director, Tim Gong, who ran the team, is expected to leave the firm, according to four people... U.S. investment firm Susquehanna International Group, one of ByteDance’s biggest shareholders, is...
Art by Getty Images
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China’s ByteDance Developing New AI Chips Like Those from Nvidia Partner Groq

By Qianer Liu and Juro Osawa · May 29, 2026 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
TikTok owner ByteDance is developing a new chip to run artificial intelligence models as part of an aggressive expansion of its homegrown AI infrastructure. The new AI chip is intended to have a structure similar to U.S. chip designer Groq’s language processing units, which are built to run AI models at low cost, according to three people with... TikTok owner ByteDance is developing a new chip to run artificial intelligence models as part of...
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. Photo by David Paul Morris / Getty Images.
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China Weighs Allowing Purchases of New Nvidia Chips by ByteDance, Alibaba

By Qianer Liu · Sep 27, 2026 8:00am PDT
China’s government has signaled it could allow some domestic companies to buy a new Nvidia chip built for high-end professional computers, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the country’s AI firms strain for enough computing power to run their chatbots and agents. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which... China’s government has signaled it could allow some domestic companies to buy a new Nvidia chip...
Photo by Costfoto/ Getty Images
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ByteDance’s First-Half Profit Drops to $20 Billion, Weighed Down by AI Spending

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Sep 15, 2026 5:00am PDT · 1 comment
ByteDance’s net profit in the first half of this year declined by a single-digit percentage to $20 billion, as the Chinese tech giant ramped up its investments in AI, according to three people with knowledge of the financial results. The company’s revenue for the period rose around 30% year on year to $120 billion, driven partly by robust growth... ByteDance’s net profit in the first half of this year declined by a single-digit percentage to...