bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

China’s ByteDance, operator of popular video-sharing app TikTok and one of the world’s most valuable unicorns, booked better-than-expected revenue of between 50 billion to 60 billion yuan (US$7 billion to US$8.4 billion) in the first half of this year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Beijing-based start-up, which recorded a loss in the first half, posted a profit in June and was confident of making a profit in the second half of this year, according to one of the people, who declined to be identified because the firm has not made a public announcement.
Robust growth has led ByteDance to revise its revenue target for this year to 120 billion yuan from an earlier goal of 100 billion yuan set late last year, a second person said.
Earnings figures for last year were not immediately available. ByteDance revenue for the whole of last year was US$7.2 billion, according to a report by online tech news outlet The Information.




ByteDance declined to comment.
The seven-year-old start-up – which was valued at US$78 billion late last year, according to separate sources – also owns Chinese news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, which means “Today’s Headlines”, as well as the domestic version of TikTok, known as Douyin.
Most of ByteDance’s revenue is generated in mainland China, according to the second person familiar with the matter. While Douyin generates revenue from advertising fees, TikTok is still in the early stages of making money, the same person said.
Analysts have called ByteDance a strong threat to major Chinese hi-tech companies, including video games and social media giant Tencent Holdings and online search market leader Baidu. Globally, ByteDance’s apps have recorded 1.5 billion monthly active users and 700 million daily active users, the company said in July.
TikTok creator ByteDance moves into search business to rival Baidu
Last month, the company launched a search engine that sits within Jinri Toutiao, putting it in direct competition with Baidu. It has also acquired a Chinese-language, Wikipedia-like website called Baike.com to further boost content.
Aiming to expand in markets outside China, ByteDance recently launched work efficiency app Lark and plans to launch a paid music-streaming app.
Its aggressive push into new areas has helped lift global headcount to around 50,000, compared with 40,000 last year.

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



US robotics firms push for national strategy to compete with China

Unitree Robotics profitable since 2020, eyes expansion amid high demand

Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai questions AI’s limits, casts doubt on humanoid robots

OpenAI’s ChatGPT can now create charts for work and edit photos better

Start-ups

TikTok owner ByteDance’s first-half revenue said to reach more than US$7 billion

Visitors are seen at the ByteDance booth during the Digital China exhibition in Fuzhou, capital of the southeast coastal province of Fujian, on May 5 this year. Photo: Reuters

TikTok creator ByteDance moves into search business to rival Baidu

Zhang Yiming, founder of Beijing-based start-up ByteDance, has begun to show the world his far-reaching ambition to create a global technology giant. Photo: Bloomberg

ByteDance upgrades AI tool to identify vulgar content on news app Jinri Toutiao

A man walks past an advertisement of Jinri Toutiao, the popular news aggregation app operated by Beijing-based ByteDance. Photo: Reuters

Can ex-Huawei executive help ByteDance crack the tough smartphone market?

A smartphone shows live streaming via the Douyin app, which is known as TikTok outside China. Photo: SCMP/Simon Song

Smartisan founder Luo Yonghao on stage during an earlier launch of a smartphone model before financial troubles set in. Photo: Handout

ByteDance spurs TikTok’s global expansion by snapping up music tech from AI start-up Jukedeck

TikTok, the popular short-form video-sharing app operated by Chinese start-up ByteDance, has more than 500 million monthly active users worldwide. Photo: Reuters

Total installations of TikTok, the popular short-form video-sharing app operated by Chinese start-up ByteDance, are estimated to be 1.2 billion worldwide, according to mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Photo: Simon Song

Tech

Business

China Business


The Beijing-based unicorn is said to have raised this year’s total revenue target to US$16.8 billion, up from its previous goal of US$14 billion



The Beijing-based unicorn is said to have raised this year’s total revenue target to US$16.8 billion, up from its previous goal of US$14 billion.


Apps

TikTok

China technology