字节跳动收购奇简软件，张一鸣的“To B野心”再下一城 – 36Kr
What happened: Bytedance acquired a Beijing-based database company named Terark on April 22, media outlet 36Kr reported. According to company database website Tianyancha, the legal representative and CEO of Terark was changed to the vice president of Bytedance, Zhang Lidong. The company’s seven shareholders left the company on the same day. Founded in 2015, Terark develops algorithms that speed up databases by compressing the data, and enables direct searches on the highly compressed data. It had secured deals with Alibaba in 2017 to integrate its technology into Alibaba Cloud.
Why it’s important: Acquiring Terark will not only help Bytedance make further advancements into big data, which has synergies with its core businesses, but could also help optimize its existing content platforms. Bytedance has been making a series of moves to diversify its businesses, launching online education platforms Gogokid and aiKID, productivity tool Lark, investing in productivity suite Shimo, and acquiring cloud-based productivity tool Mubu. While the company’s ventures in education haven’t seen much success, the move into big data, a segment in which it already has expertise, could prove to be more fruitful.