{"id":31483,"date":"2022-07-23T10:50:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T10:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/?p=31483"},"modified":"2022-07-23T10:50:50","modified_gmt":"2022-07-23T10:50:50","slug":"who-owns-tiktok-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4","title":{"rendered":"Who Owns TikTok?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_43 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a52fd3ce3aca\" class=\"cssicon\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a52fd3ce3aca\"  class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a52fd3ce3aca\" ><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#Who_Owns_TikTok\" title=\"Who Owns TikTok?\">Who Owns TikTok?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#ByteDance\" title=\"ByteDance\">ByteDance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#Microsoft\" title=\"Microsoft\">Microsoft<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#Oracle\" title=\"Oracle\">Oracle<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#Walmart\" title=\"Walmart\">Walmart<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#Eight_other_venture_capital_companies\" title=\"Eight other venture capital companies\">Eight other venture capital companies<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#Yiming\" title=\"Yiming\">Yiming<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\/#Yiming_is_the_second_wealthiest_person_in_China\" title=\"Yiming is the second wealthiest person in China\">Yiming is the second wealthiest person in China<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_Owns_TikTok\"><\/span>Who Owns TikTok?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/fbERYiz.jpg\" alt=\"Who owns TikTok\" align=\"left\" style=\"width:auto; margin:0px 10px; max-height:324px; height:auto; max-width:34%\">  <\/p>\n<p>Who owns TikTok? That&#8217;s the question on everyone&#8217;s lips. The answer is a Chinese company called ByteDance, which also owns Toutiao, a news aggregation service. The company was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, who is also one of the world&#8217;s richest people. The company is not planning to shut down TikTok until 2022, though, and it has not issued any statements to this end.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ByteDance\"><\/span>ByteDance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>ByteDance, the Chinese technology company that owns TikTok, has pursued a sale of its U.S. operations, but failed to do so. Last September, Walmart and Oracle agreed to buy a combined 20 percent stake in the company. However, that deal was shelved, and the Wall Street Journal reported that the sale had been &#8220;shelved indefinitely.&#8221; It is unclear what happened to ByteDance after Biden took office.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Microsoft\"><\/span>Microsoft<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite its high price tag, Microsoft is not the only company interested in the social media app. Facebook just launched Instagram Reels, and the social media giant didn&#8217;t seem interested in buying TikTok. In fact, the company&#8217;s interest in TikTok is so enigmatic that it&#8217;s hard to tell what will happen with it. But for now, Microsoft shareholders seem to be pleased with the deal.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Oracle\"><\/span>Oracle<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The deal between Oracle and Walmart to purchase TikTok has fallen apart. Apparently, the president and the biden administration did not see eye-to-eye on the deal, which could spell trouble for the US tech company. While the deal fell apart, the companies are still working together on data storage. Here&#8217;s what we know so far. The Biden administration did not oppose the deal, but criticized the Trump administration&#8217;s approach toward Chinese-owned apps.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Walmart\"><\/span>Walmart<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Is Walmart&#8217;s purchase of TikTok a good move for the company? The question is how, and if, Walmart can replicate its success with social commerce in the US. For one thing, Walmart is already busy with its own e-commerce business \u2014 and has recently added a rival to Amazon Prime, Walmart+. In addition to that, Walmart needs to expand its grocery delivery services and fight off rivals such as Amazon and Flipkart in India.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Eight_other_venture_capital_companies\"><\/span>Eight other venture capital companies<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>At least eight other venture capital companies own TikTok. In addition to Walmart and Oracle, the other companies are also tied to the video app. The deal allows the companies to exercise some control over their investments. But it also requires the companies to obtain a license to sell their technology in China. Walmart and Oracle may not see the partnership as a stake in TikTok Global. Both companies are expected to maintain their independence, but Walmart and Oracle will have significant say in the company&#8217;s management.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Yiming\"><\/span>Yiming<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Chinese actor Zhang Yiming, better known as @Zhang_official on Instagram, is the founder and owner of the TikTok app. He is 38 years old, and was born on 17 April 1983. He studied software engineering at Nankai University, and started his career working for the travel website Kuxun, later acquired by TripAdvisor. Yiming also briefly worked for Microsoft. After graduation, he decided to focus on creating his own apps, and founded several start-ups, including a news aggregation app called Toutiao. He wanted to compete with Baidu&#8217;s news platform, and he developed a series of videos showcasing his travels.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Yiming_is_the_second_wealthiest_person_in_China\"><\/span>Yiming is the second wealthiest person in China<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 2012, a 37-year-old software engineer founded TikTok, the world&#8217;s most popular short video app. The service has grown rapidly since its launch, topping the charts in China and elsewhere. The app has also caused national security concerns and prompted Yiming to consider selling his U.S. operations. However, the entrepreneur remained tight-lipped about his financial situation.<\/p>\n<p> <iframe width=\"468\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" height=\"262\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/m9N9Ef56Cwk\" style=\"margin:0px auto; display: block;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who Owns TikTok? Who owns TikTok? That&#8217;s the question on everyone&#8217;s lips. The answer is a Chinese company called ByteDance, which also owns Toutiao, a news aggregation service. The company was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, who is also one of the world&#8217;s richest people. The company is not planning to shut down [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[321],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.7 (Yoast SEO v21.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Who Owns TikTok? - Zeru<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who Owns TikTok?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Who Owns TikTok? Who owns TikTok? That&#8217;s the question on everyone&#8217;s lips. The answer is a Chinese company called ByteDance, which also owns Toutiao, a news aggregation service. The company was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, who is also one of the world&#8217;s richest people. The company is not planning to shut down [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zeru\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-23T10:50:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-23T10:50:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lizzie Yates\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Who-Owns-TikTok_31483\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lizzie Yates\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\",\"name\":\"Who Owns TikTok? - Zeru\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-23T10:50:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-23T10:50:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who Owns TikTok?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Zeru\",\"description\":\"Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e\",\"name\":\"Lizzie Yates\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Lizzie Yates\"},\"description\":\"A content marketing strategist with the Zeru team for a little over 5 years, Lizzie Yates specializes in everything digital media with a particular focus on social media and technology. Her passion? To follow how the social media sites like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok are maturing over time, and what businesses can do to keep up. She shares her insights on our blog in a true outpouring of knowledge and expertise. Her knowledge about technology and social media is vast, and she is always willing to share her insights with businesses to help them stay up-to-date with the latest trends.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/author\/writer\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who Owns TikTok? - Zeru","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who Owns TikTok?","og_description":"Who Owns TikTok? Who owns TikTok? That&#8217;s the question on everyone&#8217;s lips. The answer is a Chinese company called ByteDance, which also owns Toutiao, a news aggregation service. The company was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, who is also one of the world&#8217;s richest people. The company is not planning to shut down [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4","og_site_name":"Zeru","article_published_time":"2022-07-23T10:50:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-23T10:50:50+00:00","author":"Lizzie Yates","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Who-Owns-TikTok_31483","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lizzie Yates","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4","name":"Who Owns TikTok? - Zeru","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-07-23T10:50:49+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-23T10:50:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/who-owns-tiktok-4#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who Owns TikTok?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/","name":"Zeru","description":"Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/61005d9ec00b94bc50fbaf11b78aa55e","name":"Lizzie Yates","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/19-150x150.jpg","caption":"Lizzie Yates"},"description":"A content marketing strategist with the Zeru team for a little over 5 years, Lizzie Yates specializes in everything digital media with a particular focus on social media and technology. Her passion? To follow how the social media sites like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok are maturing over time, and what businesses can do to keep up. She shares her insights on our blog in a true outpouring of knowledge and expertise. Her knowledge about technology and social media is vast, and she is always willing to share her insights with businesses to help them stay up-to-date with the latest trends.","url":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/author\/writer"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31483"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31483"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31489,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31483\/revisions\/31489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeru.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}