Product details

The case describes the growth of ByteDance Technology Co Ltd (ByteDance), one of China's largest content platforms, which was founded in 2012 and shot up the rankings to become the world's biggest start-up within 6 years of its inception. The case starts out with a background note on how Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, developed the idea of a news aggregation app powered by artificial intelligence. It then talks about the way ByteDance became a giant with a news site named Jinri Toutiao and with a slew of acquisitions and strategic investments. The case then discusses ByteDance's mercurial growth and popularity across the globe. Later, the case talks about several issues and challenges faced by the company such as scrutiny of clips on its apps and a backlash online for inappropriate and potentially dangerous content, adding to the regulatory woes. The case ends with the move by SoftBank Group Corp, KKR & Co., and General Atlantic to make a huge investment in ByteDance, an investment which could value the company as high as USD75 billion, helping it eclipse Uber Technologies Inc. as the world's largest start-up.