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  • How Trump’s TikTok Negotiations Were Upended by China and Tariffs

    How Trump’s TikTok Negotiations Were Upended by China and Tariffs


    Last Wednesday, the Trump administration believed it had a plan to save TikTok.

    ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, along with some of its U.S. investors, and officials in Washington had coalesced around a new ownership structure for the popular video app, four people familiar with the situation said. That structure, the people said, would help TikTok satisfy the terms of a federal law that required the app to find a new owner in order to address national security concerns, or face a ban in the United States.

    Under the plan, new investors would own 50 percent of a new American TikTok entity, while Chinese owners would retain less than 20 percent, the limit specified by the law, two of the people said. ByteDance told the White House that Beijing was comfortable with the general structure, two of the people said.

    By Thursday morning, a version of a draft executive order from President Trump that outlined the broad strokes of the deal was circulating, according to a copy that was viewed by The New York Times.

    Then the plan hit a wall. ByteDance called the White House with the news: Now that Mr. Trump had announced a slew of tariffs on Chinese imports, the Chinese government would not let the TikTok deal proceed, two of the people said.

    In response, Mr. Trump bought the app more time. On Friday, he paused enforcement of the federal law, extending the deadline for a TikTok deal into mid-June.

    “The report is that we had a deal, pretty much, for TikTok, not a deal but pretty close, and then China changed the deal because of tariffs,” Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One.

    The standstill highlights how the video app is mired in a geopolitical tussle between the United States and China over trade and tech supremacy. It also illuminates China’s power over TikTok’s future in the United States, raising questions about whether a deal for TikTok will ever get done.

    “The parties are too proud to negotiate, and so we’re stuck between two colossal economies that are butting heads against each other,” said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University who has publicly opposed the law targeting TikTok. “TikTok has kind of been the mouse that got caught underfoot between these two elephants.”

    The Chinese Embassy in Washington, TikTok and ByteDance didn’t respond to requests for comment. The White House referred The Times to Mr. Trump’s post on Truth Social announcing his extension for the debate over the app.

    The administration and ByteDance had been hammering out a structure that would allow TikTok’s biggest U.S. investors, including the firms General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group, to hold on to their investments while government officials brought in new funds to dilute the app’s Chinese ownership.

    The tentative terms of the deal said new investors would own 50 percent of a new American TikTok entity. Current investors would own 30 percent and Chinese owners less than 20 percent, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Private equity giants like Blackstone and Silver Lake, along with the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, had weighed taking a stake in the new entity.

    The proposal was laid out in a lengthy and detailed document for investors, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

    Two people involved in the deal said there was more work to do. Certain potential new investors viewed any deal as conditional, subject to the due diligence that accompanies any large transaction, they said.

    China was always, to some extent, the wild card. The administration’s lead negotiators were not discussing the issue directly with the Chinese government, instead relying on ByteDance’s understanding of Beijing’s position, two people familiar with the matter said. Before the president’s announcement on tariffs last week, ByteDance believed that the Chinese government was comfortable with the structure coming together in Washington, the people said. But even before the tariff announcement, there was no guarantee that Beijing would provide its informal blessing or formal approval.

    The talks about TikTok are likely to become even more complicated as a trade war between the two countries escalates. China initiated retaliatory tariffs after Mr. Trump’s announcement, prompting the president to warn on Monday that he would impose additional tariffs of 50 percent on the country if it persisted.

    Mr. Trump has repeatedly suggested that he would consider lowering tariffs on China in exchange for its approval of a TikTok deal.

    Leveraging tariffs for the negotiations is “really kind of a remarkable effort to coerce a sale of a foreign company,” Mr. Chander said.

    But the trade war may still be underway in June, he said, adding: “We may well find ourselves back in Groundhog Day 75 days from now unless the tariffs have been resolved.”

    TikTok has maintained for the better part of a year that it is not for sale.

    On Friday, ByteDance acknowledged for the first time that it had been involved in negotiations with the U.S. government over the app’s future — but said any decision was ultimately in another party’s hands.

    “There are key matters to be resolved,” a spokesperson for ByteDance told reporters in an email. “Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”

    Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.



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  • How Do the iPhone 16E and Google Pixel 9A Compare to More Expensive Models?

    How Do the iPhone 16E and Google Pixel 9A Compare to More Expensive Models?


    With all the talk about tariffs driving up costs, the word “cheaper” should bring comfort to just about anyone. That’s why I’m delighted to share that the cheaper smartphone from Google has arrived, a few months after Apple released a somewhat cheaper entry-level iPhone — and that both products are very good.

    Google this week released the Pixel 9a, the $500 sibling of its $800 flagship smartphone, the Pixel 9. It competes directly with the $600 iPhone 16e released in February, the cheaper version of Apple’s $800 iPhone 16.

    Both of the new phones have the staples that people care most about — great cameras, nice screens, zippy speeds, modern software and long battery life. To cut costs, they omit some fancier extras, like advanced camera features.

    Is it a wise idea to save some bucks, or better to spend more on the fancier phones? To find out, I strapped on a fanny pack and carried all four phones with me for the last week to run tests.

    The upshot: As is often the case, you get what you pay for. The $800 phones are slightly better in terms of features and performance than the cheaper versions, and the $600 iPhone is faster and has a better camera than the $500 Pixel.

    But more important, the cheaper Pixel and iPhone were nearly indistinguishable from their $800 counterparts in several of my tests. In some cases, like battery life, the cheaper phones were even better.

    The future of phone prices remains uncertain, but costs will probably go up. On Wednesday, when President Trump announced a pause on most “reciprocal” tariffs, he raised tariffs on China, where many phones are manufactured. So plenty of us may soon be motivated to compromise and consider less expensive alternatives.

    Apple declined to comment on whether it would increase prices of its iPhones, but analysts estimate that tariffs could drive up the cost of some iPhone 16 Pro models to anywhere from $1,300 to $2,300. Google said there were no planned changes to the $500 price for the Pixel 9a, but it declined to comment on whether it would amend the price of its $800 Pixel 9.

    The cheaper iPhone and Pixel look nearly identical to their more expensive siblings. Here’s a rundown of how they compare:

    • The screens on the phones are the same size. (The iPhones measure 6.1 diagonal inches, and the Pixels measure 6.3 diagonal inches). The iPhone 16e’s screen is slightly dimmer than the iPhone 16’s, but the difference is hardly noticeable.

    • Both cheaper phones lack some camera features found on the more expensive versions. The Pixel 9a’s camera sensor is smaller than the Pixel 9’s, meaning it will capture less detail and light. The iPhone 16e’s camera has one camera lens instead of two, so it can’t create certain types of special effects, such as “ultrawide” photos with a broader field of view for scenic shots of the Grand Canyon.

    • Both less expensive phones are slightly less powerful than their nicer counterparts. All four phones include the same computer processors. But the Pixel 9a has less memory for running multiple apps at the same time, and the iPhone 16e has a slightly weaker graphics processing unit for running games with heavy animation.

    • The iPhone 16e lacks the iPhone 16’s MagSafe feature, which uses a magnet to attach accessories such as power chargers and wallets to the back of the phone. The phone can still be charged wirelessly, however, using a slower charging standard called Qi.

    • Both phones can take advantage of artificial intelligence. The iPhone 16e can use Apple Intelligence to summarize text, generate images and remove photo bombers from pictures. And the Pixel 9a can run Google’s A.I., including the Gemini chatbot and similar photo editing tools. But both companies are still developing their A.I. software, which remains largely unfinished, so this feature may not be that important to most phone users.

    Long battery life is high on the priority list for people buying a new phone, and the cheaper Pixel 9a and iPhone 16e are the clear winners here. They have larger batteries partly because they have more space for them, since the phones lack some features found in their more-expensive counterparts.

    The iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a lasted about a day and a half with general use, including web browsing, photo shooting and video playing, before their batteries were depleted. The iPhone 16 and Pixel 9 both lasted about a day.

    The downsides of buying cheaper phones were most pronounced in their cameras.

    I took my corgi, Max, to a park to take photos of him in various lighting conditions, including bright daylight, in the shade and in partly shaded areas. In general, photos taken with both the Pixel 9a and Pixel 9 looked consistently clear, with accurate colors.

    But the Pixel 9a’s weaknesses were visible in more challenging lighting conditions, such as when Max sat on a shaded path with sunlight filtering through the trees. The Pixel 9a struggled to distinguish the light from the shade, and Max looked blown out by the sun. (The Pixel 9 did fine in this situation.)

    When I tested the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 cameras, they excelled in all these tests, and the results were nearly indistinguishable.

    Both iPhones outperformed the Pixel phones in shooting videos. Videos recorded of Max strolling through the park were clearer and smoother on the iPhones; the Pixel phones’ videos looked choppier.

    So the main downside of the cheaper iPhone camera is simply what it can’t do. Because the iPhone 16e lacks a second lens, I wasn’t able to take an ultrawide shot of Max running in a field of grass.

    The more expensive phones slightly outperformed the cheaper phones in terms of speed.

    According to the speed-testing app Geekbench, the Pixel 9a is about 4 percent slower than the Pixel 9, and the iPhone 16e is 3 percent slower than the iPhone 16.

    In real-world use of the phones, most people probably won’t notice a difference. When I put the phones side by side and launched different apps and games, their performance felt about the same to me.

    If you care mostly about having a smartphone with long battery life and a good camera, you’d be happy with either the iPhone 16e or Pixel 9a. But if you care a lot about any of the premium features missing from the cheaper phones, such as taking more detailed, better-looking photos or using Apple’s MagSafe to charge your iPhone, then spending more is still a fine idea.

    Just get ready to think of a smartphone as a longer-term investment, similar to a car, since prices are likely to go up soon.



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  • A Quick Guide to Know How to Make Money from Apps

    A Quick Guide to Know How to Make Money from Apps


    We are living in a world, where for every work we need a mobile app. Due to so much dependency on mobile apps, we can’t deny the fact that mobile apps incur, great scope for businesses to gain profit.

    The mobile app market is full of opportunities for every business. How? Here is the answer.

    In the past, mobile advertising spending is very high, at $327B, and is expected to grow to $399B by 2024, which drives large profits to businesses.

    According to stats, the non-gaming and gaming categories have successfully earned $10.4B in FY22 by introducing new ideas and services in the app.

    Top non-game mobile apps Tinder, Netflix, Youtube, Pandora, and Google One
    Top mobile game apps Pubg, Pokemon Go, and Fun Race 3D

    This promises many opportunities for mobile app owners for their businesses. You need to start with an app that is feasible for your business.

    And for the instance, if you have questions like;

    ->  How much money do apps make per download? 

    ->  How do free apps make money without ads? 

    ->  How to make money creating apps for android? 

    ->  How to earn money by creating apps? 

    -> Do free apps make money?

    Yes, to answer this we have accumulated a guide that will answer your every question.

    But first, be careful about app monetization models before you start with the app development process. It’s not like every app has the capacity within itself to earn money, absolutely NO. The only way to make a profit is to research well and pre-planned to search out all the possible factors by which you can generate revenue for your mobile app.

    In the market, there are plenty of monetization methods present. Surely they are going to confuse you. But don’t worry. Today, we discuss the best monetization models that could transform your business and reach maximum revenue.

    So without a delay, let’s start!

    Let’s check out: 110 Best Money-Making Startup Business Ideas In 2023

    Monetization Models to Make Money through Mobile Apps

    How to make money by creating apps?

    It is a big question to answer.

    Before you want to start your journey. You need to have an ideal app that works well for your users.

    The only key you can go with is to develop an app that solves users’ problems, triggers their interest, provides the best experience on app UI, and makes them your valid audiences.

    But keep in mind your app development cost, don’t go too expensive, and avoid using errands of features.

    Now we proceed further and discuss app monetization methods. They are the best thing that gives you a clear glance at your user and earns money. The next thing is how to earn money by creating apps.

    The app revenue can be fueled in a number of ways. Like subscriptions, free downloads, product sales, services, and more. If your app idea is unique and can give beyond-the-ground services, then congrats you’re in the right direction.

    There are many ways to grab the user’s intention, your movement decides whether you have made the right or wrong decision.

    There are several monetization models for mobile apps, but it’s not needed to look at. We have curated a list of top revenue models that ensure your business revenue uplift in less time. 

    What are the best app monetization models/methods?

    Let’s talk about the most valuable methods that can monetize your business value in the market and lead you ahead in the competition. 

    As per the survey, 90% of the mobile apps available on play Store are free. Yes, we are not kidding, it’s true.

    How do free apps make money without ads? Do free apps make money? 

    The revenue business model is freemium upsell, which is basically free for every registered user on a mobile app. Such apps are designed in a way that helps businesses to attract the majority of users. They are the best way to earn money via apps.

    NOTE: If the user found some other platform where similar things get for free, then they may move on to that platform.

    People expect to save money and get discounts from the freemium upsell apps. It is a great tactic to engage users with plenty of options like display ads, banner ads, video ads, sponsorship, and other pop-ups, and give a snap view of the platform UI experience.

    Whatsapp Business Model is the best example based on freemium upsell.

    The freemium mobile version is free and developed for lighter usage. But if users want to access additional services and a better UI, they can purchase it too. First-time users come for free services while when they feel friendly and more mature with your platform they go for paid ones.

    The Freemium model is designed to target potential audiences. Hence, free features are wisely placed into the app for more user engagement, while pushing them for purchase is the key.

    However, paid apps are better to bring loyal customers to your platform. The services which you are selling for the amount charged, deliver them quality service. And allow them to buy additional things from your app.

    Here are some paid app services, for your interest. 

    Subscription models are best to drive focused and intended users on mobile apps. These are not free but have a large pool of content and services to access. The registered user needs to pay a small fee to “subscribe” to these services.

    For the subscribed users, the app needs to take extra care. Combating all, the mobile app developer makes sure that users can’t feel left out of the platform.

    Now, let’s talk about different classifications of subscription models. The subscription model is categorized into two ways;

    Let’s understand two categories of the subscription model. 

    Table: Subscription Models Classification

    Type of Subscription Model How do they work?
    • Non-renewing subscription
    		 The model charges the user for one time, allowing them to use the premium services. After a fixed interval of time, the subscription offers are cut off and users do need not to pay anything. Hence the services are closed. 
    • Automatic renewing subscription
    		 While in the auto-renewal subscription model, the user enters the card details and chooses which kind of app services he wants. Rest the app itself deduct monthly charges from the card and allows the user to enjoy premium services. 

    It is basically a recurring model, where the user does need not to pay manually but can discontinue services from the month’s end, and stop the auto-renewal method. 

    You can also go ahead with this business model, to give the best features to those exclusive sets of users who want to enjoy premium services.

    Advertising model is one of the widely used and popular business models to make money from apps. The main play or gamic we can say with the advertising model is to invite third-party networks or advertisers over your platform.

    As a commission for using your interface, you can charge a few bucks from the advertisers. However, the cost depends on the requirements of the advertisement. Whether the advertiser asks to utilize your complete channel or not. Sometimes he wants to boost his traffic via your mobile app platform and at other times, he needs real-time visitors and clicks on his platform.

    Talking about more detailed advertising-based models, we can easily categorize them into 4 types; native ads, in-app ads, banner ads, and interstitial ads.

    We are going to discuss all of them in the table below.

    Table: Advertising Models Classification

    Type of Advertising Model  How do they work? 
    • Native ads are nondisturbing ads, present in natural areas inside the mobile app. The whole idea of native ads is how to make the user feel comfortable and relaxed on the app. 
    • These ads are blended with the content theme and UI of the app. Based on the user’s history, they come as a thread along with sponsored content. 
    • The app contains some featured products and services that can be explored within the app. The in-app purchase model is an in-streaming pop-up video that runs for 10 to 20 seconds, after that the video pauses naturally. 
    • The main intent of these ads is to allow users to understand the app services. 
    • Many publishers give their services via in-app ads. 
    • For eg. Purchase the app and gain coins, gems, or gold. Unlock fun stickers, etc. 
    • Note: as the users of today are more intent on UI experience, businesses are less interested to add banner ads as a prompt on their apps. 
    • However, they are placed at the top, and bottom of the app. 
    • is a full-screen pop-up window, which asks the user for some action. 
    • It is used for promoting something with intent. 
    • They are transitional breaks that add between the page and pop on while scrolling, to break the monotony of the page. 
    • It comes in formats like news, messages, etc. 
    • Note: do not use audio or video for the full-screen pop-ups. 

    Referrals Marketing is nothing but a medium via which you can pitch subscribers to your platform from another relevant site. Recommend a useful reference or link like the app, tool, or website to the visitor who is looking for more.

    For example; Suppose you’re a manufacturing business, building smart vehicles, less with technologies and properties like mileage, emission rate, etc. If and want to expand your reach to the maximum, by solving users’ problems, what you can do is partner with a ride-sharing company.

    You can endorse their services on your platform to catch customers around the platform. To boost both businesses. While for every view you get a commission. That is a best practice I think you should try on for your mobile app profits and expand. 

    How much money do apps make per download? 

    If you’ve understood this model. Maybe you have this question in your mind. 

    WAIT.. we are going to disclose this.

    Actually, it is crucial to know how the model works and how you can make money. So let’s understand it.

    CPC, CPA, CPV, and CPI are the major 4 terms that you should know to understand the hierarchy. 

    • CPA: cost per acquisition/action. This is the end term in the funnel which ensures whether your task has been finished or not. An action could be like buying a product or signing up for a free trial. 
    • CPC: cost per click. It is the number of times users click on the ad URL. 
    • CPV: cost per view. As long as the ad is viewed by the user, it comes under CPV and you’ll get money. Here no action is required to be performed. 
    • CPI: cost per install. You will earn every time the user installs some app from your platform.

    • Crowdfunding

    Now let’s come to know about crowdfunding a little bit. This is not a direct method for your business to generate revenue. But it is a strategy that helps to get you funds for expanding your business in different verticals.

    A few top crowdfunding platforms names are;  

    • Kickstarter 
    • Indiegogo
    • Crowdfunder
    • Appsfunder

    There are various advantages where Crowd Funding helps you with Your Mobile App Development. 

    • Sponsorship and Influencer Marketing 

    Let’s break the terms into two:

    Sponsorship: Is the method that helps you to earn money. How? The process is simple.

    It’s not just the advertising but way more than that. Place exciting offers of the third party on the header, footer, or splash screen.

    If you are a food business, you can connect with food bloggers, and restaurant websites that have similar audiences to earn money from the users.

    Influencer Marketing: Another way is influencer marketing. By this method, you can connect with individual experts of similar domains to promote your products and services. The influencer has a large pool of followers and he is known to give honest opinions.

    Know More: A Step-By-Step Guide to Marketing Your Mobile App

    The incentivized ads are intended to promote your services differently. It allows you to connect with users. So that you accomplish the goal of your branding. These ads are in the form of sponsored surveys, content, etc. 

    Promising Ways to Grow Your Business and Gain Profits

    Apart from the above models to make money, we quickly discuss here some promising ways to grow your business.

    It is a new heck in marketing. It comes under performance marketing. When the user visits some website as per his interest, he clicks on relevant links to buy things/ products.

    The motive of affiliate marketing is not solved just with a click. NO.

    Once the user covers the entire funnel and buys the product at the end, then only you get a commission directly from the website, based on the product type.

    It is a great way to impulse users to buy by providing every resourceful information which they are looking for. 

    • Collecting and Selling Products and Data 

    Being a business entrepreneur you should have plenty of ideas to engage your users.

    E-commerce platforms have big opportunities to fill users’ desires. You can start branded merchandise like goodies, stickers, t-shirts, backpacks, etc.

    Selling and reselling is a great option for you to drive your business regularly. 

    This is the final method we have discussed in this blog. By talking about physical purchases we mean to say that users buy something from the mobile app. Looking at the past figures, it is clear that 79% of sales come from mobile.

    Mobile apps are a convenient way for users to buy, hence customer retention is clearly high on it.

    Let’s interrogate with a quick recap of the table about the best models to make money.

    Table: Top Monetization Models 

    Monetization Model  Works best for  Things to consider 
    Free
    • Large customer base 
    • Works best for industries like education, games, healthcare, electronics, etc
    		 Gives best balance for both free and paid users
    Ads 
    • Go ahead with this model type for any category of app
    • Avoid using irrelevant ads 
    • Make most of the design 
    • Pay attention on the quality of ads placed
    In-app 
    • Place important features here 
    • Target focused and clear audience
    • Avoid unnecessary ads 
    Subscription 
    • Place exceptional services 
    • Add new features and services timely
    • Hassle-free payments. 

    Factors that guarantee money-making through mobile apps:-

    Earning is one thing and how to make a constant source of revenue is another.

    Users coming to your platform is possible only when you get something attractive and unique to them. The next thing is how they stay longer on your platform. Both these things can only be possible by giving users an overwhelming experience.

    For instance, let’s break the major goal into chunks, to get a clear insight. 

    • Understand customer/user behavior on your site/platform: use analytics tools for that. 
    •  Try to bridge the gap between the existing app and user requirements. 
    • Add some tactics that allow users to buy or purchase something in-app. 
    • Add personalized content relative to the user’s mind and nature. 
    • Give a faster experience to the user, avoiding any hustle and confusion. 
    • Smooth, faster, convenient, fun, and clear content is the only way; you can clearly convey to users and they understand it. 
    • Note: add a risk-free payment option for users to allow them to buy things from your platform. 
    • Give the facility to add and link credit card details to the in-app via mobile so that there is no need to exit the app interface. Add G-pay or Apple pay UPI for smooth payments via the app. 
    • Last but not least, conduct some market surveys to answer how, what, why, and when kinds of thoughts by users. If you solve it, you are all set.

    How to make money creating apps for android? 

    Do you have a similar question inside your head, which platform is good to go for making enough money for your business?

    You can find out your answer here. 

    • Think about the platform first. Making an app from scratch is a complex thing, but another crucial thing is choosing a platform that has a large user presence. 
    • Android apps have a larger customer base of 81% compared to any other platform. However, iOS users’ average purchase is large compared to android. 
    • So both of the platforms have a high caliber to generate revenues for businesses. 27.5B users download apps from the google app store while 8.1B are downloaded from the apple app store.

    If you reach here, we’re sure you have observed quick ways to make money for your mobile app. Pick the best monetization model only which is suitable for you and works well for you. 

    Why Mobile Apps are the best choice compared to Web Apps or Mobile sites?

    The question has mostly been asked why mobile apps are the No.1 priority for users, not any other platform like a mobile site or web app.

    One answer is “revenues”. Mobile apps are an ideal source to grab big money balls at the plate. But this isn’t set in stone. We only say that mobile apps have a broad and focused canvas for users.

    Another point is that mobile apps have far simpler navigation, attractive UI, faster loading, and one-click payment options. This could not be possible by mobile site or web app. On these interfaces, payment processes are lacking. The user has to fill in every detail for every new payment and this could be a tedious and slow process for him. 

    Final Conclusion: Want to make money with your app?

    With starting your business, you have a clear intention to one day earn money from it. Yes or no? YES of course.

    Every entrepreneur who starts his journey of business discovers possibilities and frames ideas into a canvas to solve people’s issues. And that is actually the sake of need.

    If you want to not only survive in the industry but try to fill the gaps remaining in the marketplace, you have a good opportunity through apps.

    But it’s not always, and every one comes with the same intention.

    But I think it should be.

    The businesses which you would have seen earning good money in app stores, technically come after great strategy and mindset.

    Maybe an idea works for others, but would not work for you. Always prepare individual plans for your business.

    We have uncovered many ideas and methods that would surely help you to make money for your business. Mobile apps are a great idea, to earn and save extra cost and time. And that can only be possible with the help of developers. 

    So are you looking to develop your mobile application for your business profit and revenue?

    You can connect with us, we are VerveLogic can be your one-stop solution for mobile app development because we have a team of experts and market experience. You can get your app developed at the best price possible.

    And for branding solutions or online marketing for your brand then you should check out VerveBranding and Verve Online Marketing today and make your brand stand out.

    FAQ: Some quick answers for you

    • How does a free app make money without ads? 

    Yes, Actually the free model helps to earn money but with ads. And for monetization, without ads you need to choose 4 models;

    Freemium upsell, in-app purchase, subscription, and referrals. 

    • How much money do apps make per download? 

    For the single click, the average income varies from $0.55 to $1.20.

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  • How TikTok’s Parent, ByteDance, Became an A.I. Powerhouse

    How TikTok’s Parent, ByteDance, Became an A.I. Powerhouse


    The Chinese internet giant ByteDance has made some of the world’s most popular apps: TikTok and, in China, Douyin and Toutiao.

    In the United States, TikTok claims 170 million users. But in China, about 700 million use the domestic version, Douyin, and 300 million scroll the headlines on Toutiao, a news app. Every video that ByteDance’s users watch or post gives the company another data point about how people use the internet. For years, ByteDance has applied that wealth of information to make its apps more appealing, improving its ability to recommend content to keep users hooked.

    ByteDance is also using the data as the linchpin of a growing business in artificial intelligence. The company has invested billions of dollars in the infrastructure needed to power A.I. systems, building vast data centers in China and Southeast Asia and buying up advanced semiconductors. ByteDance is also on an A.I. hiring spree.

    ByteDance is best known outside China for TikTok, an app so popular that at least 20 governments have adopted partial bans over concerns about its influence on national security and public opinion.

    Concern over how ByteDance uses data has driven lawmakers in Washington to try to force a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations. On Friday, President Trump extended a looming deadline by 75 days into mid-June.

    But in China all that data has helped ByteDance expand its business far beyond social media and gain an edge in the global race to build advanced A.I. technology.

    “ByteDance has all this data, all the time, from millions of users,” said Wei Sun, a principal analyst in artificial intelligence at Counterpoint Research in Beijing.

    Officials in Beijing have pushed China’s tech companies to pivot from entertainment apps to what the government sees as an existential goal: self-reliance in cutting-edge technologies that also have military applications, like semiconductors, supercomputers and artificial intelligence.

    ByteDance has embraced that mission. Last year, the company spent roughly $11 billion on infrastructure like data centers, networking equipment and computer chips, according to a report by Zheshang Securities, a Chinese financial firm.

    The Biden administration set up rules to try to keep Chinese companies from getting access to those kinds of chips, particularly ones made by Nvidia, the Silicon Valley giant. But ByteDance has found ways to get the computing power it needs to train its systems — in part by using data centers outside China and most likely, analysts say, by buying chips made by Chinese chipmakers like Huawei and Cambricon.

    While these Chinese-made chips cannot do everything the Nvidia chips can do, they work well enough to help companies like ByteDance provide A.I. services to people and businesses in China. Chinese tech companies have been “encouraged to adopt local options” for buying chips, said Lian Jye Su, an analyst at Omdia, a market research firm.

    All this spending has helped ByteDance make one of the most popular artificial intelligence apps in China. Its chatbot, Doubao, gained 60 million users within its first three months on the market last year. It was China’s most popular chatbot, beating rivals made by Baidu and Alibaba-backed Moonshot, until the start-up DeepSeek released its own this year.

    ByteDance showed how closely connected its app ecosystem is with its A.I. efforts when it recently started allowing some users to chat with Doubao inside the Douyin app.

    In 2021, ByteDance started Volcano Engine, a business that lets other companies pay to use the technologies that made TikTok, Douyin and Toutiao so addictive, like tools to analyze information and the algorithms that recommend videos.

    Some of these services were natural applications of the technology that ByteDance developed for Douyin and TikTok, like filters that can make people appear much older or superimpose sparkly hearts on their faces. ByteDance used its experience making these filters to help companies like Haier and Hisense develop movement-tracking technology for gesture-controlled home appliances like smart televisions.

    GAC Group, one of China’s largest makers of electric vehicles, is using Volcano Engine to translate and manage data for cars sold outside China. And Mercedes-Benz said last year that it would use Volcano Engine in its in-car voice assistant and navigation system in China.

    ByteDance did not respond to a request for comment.

    Company job postings show that ByteDance is hiring for hundreds of A.I.-related roles. The company recently directed its engineering team to focus on a milestone that tech companies like OpenAI, Google and DeepSeek are also chasing — making an A.I. system that is as smart as or smarter than humans, often referred to as artificial general intelligence.

    While many Chinese companies have started A.I. projects, a much smaller number have the resources to invest in the personnel and computing power needed to advance the technology. Some experts expect that a research team somewhere in the world will make this kind of system within the next year or two.

    Claire Fu contributed research from Seoul.



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