https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyng762q4eo
ByteDance remains a private company with an estimated market capitalization in the range of $350 billion to $400 billion as of 2025. The company posted impressive revenues exceeding $155 billion in 2024, driven largely by its global dominance in social media and AI-driven platforms. They might not be as trendy as GenAI, agents or quest of AGI, but their application of AI beat all of others in user interactivity and engagement. AI + Content beating AI Content. They are arguably more profitable than OpenAI and other AI startups from practical AI usage at this stage.
Within this vast ecosystem, TikTok stands out as a major revenue engine. In the U.S. alone, TikTok generated approximately $10 billion in revenue in 2024, mostly from advertising. Interestingly, the recent U.S. deal to create a separate TikTok entity values this new company at around $14 billion, which seems modest compared to its revenue and ByteDance’s broader financial scale and success in AI-driven content consumption.
Why create this separate U.S. platform if ByteDance is already so profitable? The situation is more nuanced than just revenue. English-language content consumption is heavily centered in the U.S. and U.K., so having a version of TikTok that is loosely affiliated but independently controlled within the U.S. market makes strategic sense. It allows ByteDance to maintain presence and relevance in major English-speaking markets while aligning with regulatory requirements. Additionally, this structure helps ByteDance to retain a stake in U.S. revenues without solely depending on direct ownership, which might face political and regulatory hurdles.
Another key consideration is global content and advertising partnerships. Keeping TikTok’s U.S. operations somewhat separate allows ByteDance to support international content deals more seamlessly. Without such arrangements, ByteDance might find itself forced to negotiate content distribution and ad deals through other platforms like YouTube or Instagram, losing a valuable positioning advantage.
What remains unclear is whether the new TikTok deal applies only to the U.S. market or if it could extend to encompass all non-China TikTok operations under this new umbrella. Extending the deal to cover global markets outside China could help shield ByteDance from regulatory pressures in regions like the European Union or India. After all, owning 20% of a much larger global audience and revenue pie can be far more valuable than owning none, especially in a fragmented and geopolitically complex media landscape.
It remains striking that social media and video-sharing platforms aren’t regulated like traditional media companies. Although national news outlets have long faced strict ownership and content rules, most informed readers today no longer rely on CNN, the BBC, or similar legacy organizations as their primary news sources—instead turning to TikTok, Twitter, late-night satire shows, and other digital channels. Despite years of high-profile, influence-laden elections, we have failed to extend comparable oversight to these online platforms. Historically, print publishing, television networks, and the film industry all operated under clear content and ownership regulations. As artificial intelligence accelerates content creation and dissemination, it will become even more challenging for governments to maintain control—and simply “pulling the plug” on digital platforms is no longer a viable option.
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