ByteDance Starts JV With Major Media To Develop AI, Blockchain and IP Services

ByteDance, the Beijing-based owner of the short-video app TikTok and its Chinese version, Douyin, announced a joint venture with Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper, a state-owned media group and the operator of a popular local news outlet The Paper.cn, according to ipozaozhidao.

The new company was founded on December 10 as a platform for cooperation on several business directions such as intellectual property services, artificial intelligence, blockchain and more.

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According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the new venture has a registered capital of 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) and ByteDance controls 49% of the new company, with Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper holding a majority share of 51%.

Earlier, on July 21, 2017, ByteDance’s subsidiary, the news-aggregator app Jinri Toutiao, signed a strategic partnership agreement on video content with The Paper.cn. According to the contract, all original video content from The Paper.cn, including short news videos and live news, would be shared and distributed through ByteDance’s flagship news aggregation app.


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