ByteDance became the world’s most valuable startup thanks to the success of apps like TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, but has been squeezed between Beijing’s crackdown on internet companies at home and suspicions of Washington on services. Concerns about how TikTok stores US user data and manages information flows between employees in China and elsewhere have resurfaced among US lawmakers and politicians as they prepare for midterm elections .
Like most social media platforms, TikTok makes most of its revenue from advertising.
Parent ByteDance has postponed plans for an initial public offering as investors flee riskier assets. In September, it offered to buy up to $3 billion of its own stock at a valuation of about $300 billion, giving existing backers a way to exit. Douyin earns much more revenue, but it is unclear how the Chinese crisis affects this unit.
TikTok representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the revenue target, which was first reported by the Financial Times.