[ad_1]
ByteDance sells part of the artificial intelligence technology that feeds its TikTok viral video app to websites and apps outside of China, as it expands its revenue streams before a long-awaited initial public offering.
A new division called BytePlus was quietly launched in June and already includes customers from around the world, including the United States.
According to its website, the first customers include Goat, the fashion app based in the United States; WeGo, a travel booking site in Singapore; and Chilibeli, an Indonesian online shopping start-up. TikTok is also among its customers.
BytePlus offers companies the opportunity to take advantage of some of TikTok’s secret ingredients – the algorithm that makes users scroll by recommending videos they think they’ll like. They can use this technology to customize their applications and services for their customers.
Other programs offered include automated text and voice translation, real-time video effects, and a set of data analysis and management tools.
Its computer vision technology can detect and track 18 points around the body from head to toe while users dance or gesture in front of the camera, which BytePlus suggests could be used for beauty or fashion applications.
The new unit has recruited staff in Singapore, its main center, as well as in London and Hong Kong, from business technology companies such as Microsoft and IBM, according to employees ’LinkedIn profiles.
Tianyi He, a six-year veteran of ByteDance who graduated in computer science from Tianjin University in 2014, has been on LinkedIn as head of BytePlus in Singapore since June. A 15-second promotional video, titled “Hello World!” was published in LinkedIn last month.
The BytePlus toolkit appears to compete with AI services from Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM, and Microsoft, as well as other Chinese groups such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent.
BytePlus ’international debut comes after the launch of a company-like service in China. Volcano Engine, or Volcengine, has JD.com, Vivo and Geely among its customers.
ByteDance’s first business product, a corporate collaboration app called Lark, launched in 2019, as an alternative to Slack or Microsoft teams. Its deepest push toward corporate technology comes when the rapid growth of TikTok and its Chinese incarnation, Douyin, threatens to hit a ceiling as the online audience is saturated. ByteDance is testing a range of new products to diversify from TikTok, both in China and internationally, including mobile gaming and video editing applications.
Online records suggest that ByteDance has attempted to register trademarks associated with both BytePlus and Volcano Engine in the U.S., although it is unclear whether the company has yet opened an office there.
BytePlus ’privacy policy suggests that the company be incorporated separately into TikTok in the UK and Europe. In the UK, it points to its GDPR representative designated as Cosmo Technology Private Limited, while in Europe the responsible organization is Mikros Information Technology Ireland Limited, based in Dublin.
Cosmo and Mikros were registered as new companies in February and March of this year, respectively. Submissions to the UK and Irish company registries make no clear reference to BytePlus or its shared affiliation with TikTok, although ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming is listed as a “person with significant control” at Cosmo.
ByteDance declined to comment on its plans for BytePlus.
[ad_2]
Source link
