TikTok owner ByteDance denies report of profit surge in 2023, prepares to launch Instagram rival
- ByteDance denies a news report saying the company’s profits rose 60 per cent to US$40 billion last year
- The TikTok owner is preparing two new apps, including one for sharing photo posts and another targeting European users
ByteDance, the owner of short video app TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin, has denied a news report saying the company’s profits jumped 60 per cent last year, as it plans two new apps – one to rival Instagram and another targeting European users – amid political headwinds against TikTok in the United States.
As a private company, ByteDance is not obliged to disclose its financial conditions, but such data are closely sought-after by investors, who regard the fiscal health of China’s largest unicorn as a bellwether of the performance of the country’s internet industry.
ByteDance’s revenue in the first three quarters of 2023 rose 40 per cent to more than US$84 billion, according to a report in March by tech news site The Information. ByteDance did not comment on those numbers.
03:10
Protests at US Congress after House passes bill that could potentially ban TikTok nationwide
Meanwhile, the online entertainment giant is readying at least two new apps for the overseas market, as pressure on TikTok ramps up in the US, where the House of Representatives last month approved a bill demanding that ByteDance divest TikTok or face a ban. That bill is now headed to the Senate.
TikTok’s official website has launched a preliminary page for the “TikTok Notes” app, which posted three photos and had an “open app” button that did not work as of Thursday.