TikTok’s parent is selling the company’s AI. What does it mean to everyone?
What Happened?
A report by The Financial Times said that the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, has begun a new division called BytePlus and is selling TikTok Artificial Intelligence (AI) to other companies. The report said that BytePlus is providing customers the chance to access the TikTok recommendation algorithm and “personalise it for their apps and customers.”
Apart from the AI, customers can also buy computer vision tech, real-time video effects, automated translation of text and speech functions, and tools for data analysis and management, among others. Then, customers can customise this tech to fit the needs of their apps and consumer base.
According to its website, the company already has a few buyers, including U.S. fashion app Goat, Singapore travel site WeGo, Indonesian shopping app Chilibeli, India-based social gaming platform GamesApp, among others. (The thing to note here is that TikTok has been banned in India since 2020).
Why Is This Important?
The recommendation algorithm of TikTok has been a major driver in the expeditious growth of the platform, which determines the videos users see even before they start following creators. So, we can understand why ByteDance would want to capitalise on the AI, and we can also understand why companies would be interested in getting their hands on it.
According to a blog post last year, TikTok said that the app determines which videos to recommend on your feed based on user metadata. The app also determines how you interact on the platform, such as videos you like, share, or comment on, or what hashtags or captions you include on your posts, what type of device you are using or your location settings, etc.,
Zooming Out
Buying TikTok’s AI would be a great value addition for companies, and it might even attribute to the firms’ growth. This move will also help ByteDance to keep on earning more money due to the widespread interest around its AI. However, this landscape is also highly competitive because ByteDance will be going against AI services from big tech companies like Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM, and Microsoft as well other Chinese rivals such as Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent.
So, we have to wait and see how the decision to sell TikTok’s AI helps ByteDance in the future and whether it will be able to compete with tech giants like Google.
Head to moneyguru’s Insight section to stay updated on all major financial news updates of the day!
