According to foreign media reports, ByteDance's board reached a consensus in early May 2026 to postpone its initial public offering (IPO). Founder Zhang Yiming believes the valuation still has room to grow and that going public now would cede too much profit to late-stage, risk-free investors.
Currently, ByteDance's over-the-counter gray market valuation has exceeded $600 billion. A senior technology investment banker at Bank of America says the company's market cap could approach $1 trillion, setting a new industry benchmark.
Policy and geopolitical risks have eased. In early 2026, Oracle and an investor consortium agreed to jointly acquire 80% of TikTok's US entity, largely clearing regulatory pressure.
On the AI front, Doubao, the most popular chatbot app in China by user base, is adding paid tiers on top of its free service.