TikTok Founders: The Minds Behind the Popular App

TikTok breached the one-billion mark in active users in 2021 — just four years after its global launch. The app’s unprecedented growth has made it the fastest-growing social media platform. Its robust and addictive algorithm has also remained the envy of even the biggest players in the industry. Read on to get to know the TikTok founders behind the success of everyone’s video-sharing app!

TikTok Owner Name: TikTok’s Beginnings

Many users of the app are familiar with TikTok’s early iterations as Musical.ly and, later, Douyin. But we can see the app’s beginnings much further when the creator of Tik Tok, Zhang Yeming, developed ByteDance in 2012.

Zhang founded ByteDance alongside Liang Rubo and their team of engineers to use big data algorithms to push relevant content to users. Zhang wanted to help users find information based on their interests and developed the Toutiao news app under ByteDance. 

ByteDance launched the video-sharing app Douyin in China in September 2015. It was an instant hit among millennial users. A year later, it launched the app’s international version, TikTok. In November 2017 (five years after launching Toutiao), ByteDance acquired musical.ly. 

During this time, TikTok was still limited in availability. To further fuel TikTok’s global release, ByteDance merged the app with musical.ly in August 2018. TikTok absorbed all of musical.ly’s users, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Zhang is currently one of the richest individuals in the world and the richest man in China as of 2024. Forbes reports his net worth at 45.6 billion USD; Bloomberg Billionaires Index reveals an estimated value of 43.1 billion USD. 

Who Owns TikTok Now? 

ByteDance, a Chinese internet company, retains ownership of the much sought-after TikTok app, as well as its Chinese counterpart, Douyin. The company itself is divided amongst the following investors:

• ByteDance’s original founders and Chinese investors have 20% ownership. 
• Foreign investors, including U.S. companies Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, own 60%. 
• ByteDance employees own the remaining 20%. 

ByteDance headquarters are located in Beijing, China. TikTok, on the other hand, maintains two head offices in Singapore and Los Angeles. 

In November 2021, Zhang stepped down as ByteDance CEO, but he has retained over 50% of voting rights within the company. He handed over ByteDance leadership to Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean business executive, who currently holds the CEO position. 

Is TikTok Changing Ownership?

In the U.S., video-hosting platforms have faced the threat of nationwide bans for many years. Early this year, President Biden signed the TikTok Ban Bill into law. The law gives ByteDance a year to sell the app to a non-Chinese company to avoid a nationwide ban. 

ByteDance, however, remains committed to fighting the looming ban through legal means. The company has remained steadfast in its refusal to sell the app. 

According to estimates, TikTok’s U.S. segment may sell for up to 100 billion USD. ByteDance has until January 19, 2025, to divest itself of the app or risk being kicked off all devices in the U.S. Should the ban pass, 120.5 million TikTok users in the U.S. will lose access to the social media platform. 

What You Can Learn From the Genius Minds of TikTok Founders

With over 1.2 billion monthly users globally, TikTok continues to keep the biggest social media tech companies on their toes. TikTok’s algorithm is a veritable force to be reckoned with. It’s a piece of advanced AI technology that Meta, YouTube, and others have been trying to replicate, but they have failed to replicate it.

The TikTok founders’ original motivation of delivering content that satisfies users’ interests with the help of AI was ingenuous in its simplicity. Creators and brands that struggle to maintain relevance and visibility on other platforms have found easier success on TikTok. Anyone can take a page out of TikTok’s book — satisfying user interests — and experience bigger and faster growth. 

But don’t stop there! You can give your growth a more powerful push by signing up for a High Social plan. Have the added AI-driven advantage of High Social’s innovative and proprietary algorithm. Instantly double your targeting power to sustain accelerated growth on the platform. 

Start growing your TikTok today!

Does China Own TikTok? Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the original TikTok founder and chairman? Let’s answer a few more FAQ to sum up everything you need to know about TikTok’s ownership. 

TikTok 101