ByteDance, which was founded in 2012 by 29-year-old software engineer Zhang Yiming, is reportedly in talks with investors for new funding that can value the startup at $75 billion market valuation.
If all deals are sealed, ByteDance, the maker of the AI-powered news aggregator Jinri Toutiao and the brain behind the video-sharing platform Tik Tok which is popular among millennials worldwide, can be the world's most valuable tech startup and the biggest at that.
In comparison, Uber Technologies Inc. is currently valued at $72 billion according to The New York Times. China's Didi Chuxing is currently valued at $56 billion.
Companies that are reportedly investing in the startup are Japan's SoftBank Group Corporation, Sequoia Capital, KKR & Co., and General Atlantic.
ByteDance's venture into its billions-worth valuation started when then 29-year-old Zhang launched Toutiao by using artificial intelligence to provide a more customer-centered news experience. The investors were lukewarm to the startup at this time because it has to compete with news platforms supported by Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd especially that Zhang preferred not to have both Tencent and Alibaba on board as its investors.
ByteDance's market proved to be resilient. Its subscribers had even helped the company weathered the storm of tough Chinese internet regulators. Toutiao had been censored for a number of times by Chinese authorities for perceived malicious content. In 2017, the news platform was suspended for reportedly spreading offensive content.
Amid strict Chinese regulators, Zhang continued to adjust its algorithm to deliver news content to its users. The number of its users has soared to more than 13 million in 2014. To closely describe the platform, one has to think of Google combined with Facebook.
In 2016, ByteDance launched the Douyin app where users can shoot and edit short videos. In 2017, it bought Musical.y for $800 million. The startup then merged Douyin and Musical.ly to Tik Tok which currently has half a billion of users.
To date, Zhang is touted as one of the world's youngest self-made billionaires. According to Forbes, his net worth is currently at $4 billion. His now at number 550 on Forbes Billionaires List and at number 30 in China's Rich List in 2017.
The software engineer from the Nankai University was listed as a member of the 2013 Forbes China 30 Under 30 List.
Bytedance is so far the most successful Chinese tech company to have diversified internationally. Tik Tok has since been popular to users in the United States, Southeast Asia, and Japan.
