ByteDance is founded by Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo.
Launch of Toutiao, an AI-powered news aggregator app in China.
Toutiao quickly became one of China's largest news platforms, showcasing ByteDance's early success with AI-driven content recommendation systems.
Douyin, a short-video sharing app, is launched in China.
ByteDance becomes the controlling stakeholder of Indonesian news app BABE.
2016 marked ByteDance's first major steps toward international expansion, with Douyin's launch laying the groundwork for what would later become TikTok.
ByteDance acquires Flipagram (later rebranded to Vigo Video).
TikTok is launched outside of mainland China.
ByteDance acquires Musical.ly for an estimated US$1 billion.
2017 was a pivotal year for ByteDance's international expansion, marked by strategic acquisitions and the global launch of TikTok. The Musical.ly acquisition particularly accelerated ByteDance's growth in Western markets.
Musical.ly merges with TikTok.
The merger marked a significant milestone in ByteDance's global expansion strategy, consolidating its short-form video platforms under the TikTok brand.
TikTok surpasses 1 billion downloads worldwide.
This milestone demonstrated TikTok's explosive growth and global appeal across diverse markets.
CapCut, a video editing app, is released.
The US government expresses national security concerns about TikTok.
Oracle and Walmart announce a deal to become technology partners with TikTok in the US.
2020 was marked by both product innovation and significant regulatory challenges in key markets.
Vigo Video shuts down.
TikTok reaches 22.
2021 saw significant platform consolidation and continued growth for ByteDance's core products.
CapCut becomes the second-most downloaded app in the US.
TikTok faces increasing scrutiny from US lawmakers over data security.
2023 highlighted both ByteDance's continued success with CapCut and ongoing regulatory challenges for TikTok.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act passes, requiring ByteDance to divest its stake in TikTok within a year to avoid a ban.
The passage of this act marked a critical turning point in ByteDance's relationship with the US market.
TikTok suspends services in the United States as the divestment deadline passes.
Service restoration following signals of a 90-day extension from the incoming administration.
This critical period represents the culmination of years of regulatory challenges and negotiations between ByteDance and the US government.
TikTok's Future in the US: Service temporarily restored, but ban threat remains without divestiture deal.
Data Security: Ongoing concerns highlight US-China tensions over technology and data security.
Global Impact: ByteDance's Western market expansion faces significant challenges.