BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Musical.ly, a China-based video social network popular with teenagers, has been acquired by Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. Media reports pegged the value of the acquisition between $800 million and $1 billion.
ByteDance is a China-based startup best known for a mobile app called Jinri Toutiao, or 'Today's Headlines,' which aggregates news and videos from hundreds of media outlets. Toutiao is a news and information content platform powered by artificial intelligence technology.
The deal will combine Toutiao's 120 million Chinese users with the roughly 60 million that use Musical.ly in the U.S. and Europe. Musical.ly will continue to operate a separate product.
Musical.ly is a social media platform for creating and sharing short videos. Founded in Shanghai by longtime friends Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang in 2014, it gained in popularity among American teenagers in 2016 by enabling users to record quick videos set to music.
Through the app, users can create 15-second to one minute videos and choose sound tracks to accompany them, use different speed options and add pre-set filters as well as effects. The app also allows users to browse popular 'musers,' content, trending songs and sounds, and hashtags.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX