In an interesting new development in the increasingly complicated geopolitical / economic situation between India and China, ByteDance is now reportedly looking to sell its Indian assets TikTok to local and unicorn rival Glance. The report comes from Bloomberg and concerns high-level talks that have recently started and are still under wraps. We’ll do our best to simplify thigs as much as possible here.
After India made its permanent ban on 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok in the country in January, ByteDance – the Chinese parent company of the short video-sharing platform effectively shut down its operations in India and went into business. is withdrawn from the country. Since then, ByteDance has sought a way to recover at least some of its local assets. Apparently the opportunity presented itself. Japanese SoftBank Group Corp – the multinational conglomerate that tends to pop up quite frequently when discussing big tech companies is apparently a backer of both TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and Glance’s parent company, InMobi Pte. Therefore, the point of making TikTok’s local assets profitable again is definitely there, even if at first glance it looks like an assimilation of competitor Glance.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the discussions go well beyond simple commercial relations between companies. Apparently, in light of the lingering tensions between India and China, the Indian government will have to give its seal of approval on such a deal. Sources say the latter authorities will insist that TikTok users’ data and technology remain within India’s borders. China’s relatively new rules on the export of technology are expected to further complicate the negotiations. With all that is said and done, it is likely that both governments will have to approve any eventual deal that SoftBank mediates between ByteDance and InMobi Pte.
TikTok’s woes in India began last summer when the Indian government issued preliminary bans, citing threats to its sovereignty and security. At this point, TikTok had a huge base of 200 million users in India and hundreds of local employees. Since then, most of those former employees have turned to local TikTok rivals, who seem to be popping up quickly everywhere in hopes of filling the market void. Glance or Glance Digital Experience As the full name suggests, the most likely partner in the aforementioned asset transfer deal is certainly one of the biggest names. Its parent company InMobi was founded by Harvard Business School alumnus Naveen Tewari and is India’s first unicorn – a term for a private startup, valued at over $ 1 billion. This unicorn status was only acquired recently in December, following the start of the TikTok ban saga, as well as funding from Google and billionaire Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital to InMobi. The point here is that the big economic interests and the actors are involved from left to right.
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