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ByteDance Former Official Looks for Other Investments

TikTok’s former chief executive official, Alex Zhu, had the task to find new startup companies that ByteDance will invest in. The technology company continues to be bombarded with problems regarding privacy and is now looking for new prospects.

Zhu is a known entrepreneur who co-founded the globally famous application TikTok, a video sharing platform. The man helped kickstart Musical.ly, which was later acquired for 1 billion US dollars and reconstructed as TikTok.

Earlier this year, Zhu had the assigned position as ByteDance’s vice president of product and strategy. This was after the company hired Disney’s streaming head, Kevin Mayer, to TikTok’s executive chief.

Earlier reports said that Zhu had to focus on tactics, strategies, and various product designs for the company. However, at that time, looking for new companies to invest in wasn’t in his job description.

Yesterday, a spokesperson from the company told the press that Zhu will now overlook the investments at his post.

According to technology news reports, the Chinese internet company has about 21 investments in start-up businesses.

Just two years ago, the firm invested in Dailyhunt, an Indian content aggregation platform. And earlier this year, it invested in Lingxi, a Chinese state-funded artificial intelligence developer.

An analyst said that the Chinese tech firm can’t have top Chinese officials running TikTok. This is because of the massive political tension between China and the West.

This means that even if Zhu had a part in starting TikTok, their best bet for making it to other markets will be Kevin Mayer.

Both of TikTok’s founders have transitioned to ByteDance, taking up different roles which they specialize in. And TikTok is distancing itself from its parent company to try and escape from the gravitational pull of geopolitical rifts.

Other Projects

Aside from entertainment, modern technology has proven that it could change the landscape of various fields and industries. This includes health, lifestyle, travel, and most especially education which the Chinese internet firm wants to dive in on.

In the past, there were reports that ByteDance senior vice president Chen Lin said that the company would enter education. And now, reports say that the company is looking to invest a “huge amount” of funds into its new business unit.

However, experts say that the education unit is unlikely to make any profits for the next three years.

The company has said that it is making education as one of its top priorities alongside TikTok.

The firm has invested in GoGoKid, a one-on-one English tutoring application. It has also funded Qingbei, an online livestreaming application with various courses.

Now, it continues to seek new investments and experts think that TikTok’s former official, Alex Zhu, will look for start-ups in education tech.



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