Bytedance, which operates news and video-sharing apps in China and the west, is poised to overtake more established tech companies such as Uber and Didi Chuxing as it raises money at a valuation of up to $75bn.
A mix of first-time investors, such as SoftBank, and long-term holders General Atlantic, KKR and Sequoia are among the groups in talks to be part of Bytedance’s final funding round before an initial public offering as early as next year, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions. Bytedance is seeking $3bn in new money.
The six-year-old Chinese start-up uses algorithms to serve readers personalised news streams in its hugely popular Jinri Toutiao app. It also owns the video-sharing apps Douyin, for the Chinese market, and TikTok, for overseas.