Toutiao parent launches global competitor to musical.ly

It’s no secret that the once low-profile news aggregator Toutiao has hit the jackpot in China with a reportedly $22 billion valuation, challenging the dominance of incumbent tech giants BAT. As a relatively latecomer in the industry, it’s amazing that Toutiao spearheaded forays into a variety of areas and yet managed to achieve impressive growth.

The company’s latest effort taps into two of the hottest trends in China’s tech industry: short video and globalization. Toutiao’s parent company ByteDance is officially launching Tik Tok, a music video platform and social network, across Asia, TechNode learned from the company.

Designed for the new generation of digital natives and social media creators, Tik Tok allows users to quickly and easily make unique short videos to share with friends and the world. Its special effects include shaking and jiving to hip-hop and electronic music, changing hair color, 3D stickers, and other props. In addition, creators can take their talent to the next level and tap into a massive music library.

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