ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has seen its private market valuation reach approximately US$500 billion, up from around US$400 billion earlier this year, according to a report by the South China Morning Post citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.
The increase in valuation comes as ByteDance advances its US restructuring efforts, where lawmakers have pushed for a potential sell-or-ban mandate on TikTok.
Last week, TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi reportedly informed employees that the company had signed a binding agreement to divest its US operations into a joint venture controlled by American investors.
One source said investors are happy about the deal’s terms as ByteDance can continue to reap earnings from TikTok in the US, the report added.
The reported US$500 billion valuation would mark a record for the short-video and artificial intelligence company, per the report.
ByteDance previously approached a valuation of US$400 billion in April 2021, around the time it considered a public listing for Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese counterpart, though the company later said it had no immediate plans to go public.
The current valuation estimate is derived from private share sales, employee buybacks, and investor bids, the report noted. ByteDance has not publicly confirmed the figure.