ByteDance Ltd.
Acquisitions
5
Major Deals Covered
$5.8B
Disclosed Deal Value
ByteDance's largest disclosed acquisition here is Moonton Technology for $4B in 2021. This page covers 5 major deals from 2017 to 2024, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Musical.ly | 2017 | $1.0B | ByteDance acquired the Shanghai-founded lip-sync app Musical.ly in November 2017, in a deal widely reported at up to $1 billion, to gain an established audience in the US and Europe. |
| Flipagram | 2017 | Undisclosed | ByteDance bought the Los Angeles-based photo and video slideshow app Flipagram in 2017, an early step into US short-video creation before the Musical.ly deal. |
| Moonton Technology | 2021 | $4.0B | ByteDance acquired Moonton, developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, in 2021 at a valuation of around $4 billion to build a mobile games business with strong Southeast Asian reach. |
| Pico | 2021 | Undisclosed | ByteDance acquired Chinese VR headset maker Pico in August 2021 to compete in virtual reality hardware with Meta's Quest line. |
| Tokopedia (75.01% stake) | 2024 | $840.0M | TikTok bought 75.01% of GoTo Group's Indonesian marketplace Tokopedia for $840 million and combined it with TikTok Shop Indonesia, after Indonesia restricted shopping inside social media apps. |
2024
$840M
TikTok bought 75.01% of GoTo Group's Indonesian marketplace Tokopedia for $840 million and combined it with TikTok Shop Indonesia, after Indonesia restricted shopping inside social media apps.
The deal let TikTok Shop return to Indonesia; TikTok also committed to invest up to $1.5 billion more over time.
2021
$4.0B
ByteDance acquired Moonton, developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, in 2021 at a valuation of around $4 billion to build a mobile games business with strong Southeast Asian reach.
Moonton became ByteDance's main games asset after the company cut back other gaming operations.
In March 2026 ByteDance agreed to sell Moonton to Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group for about $6 billion as it shifted capital to AI.
2021
ByteDance acquired Chinese VR headset maker Pico in August 2021 to compete in virtual reality hardware with Meta's Quest line.
2017
$1.0B
ByteDance acquired the Shanghai-founded lip-sync app Musical.ly in November 2017, in a deal widely reported at up to $1 billion, to gain an established audience in the US and Europe.
Musical.ly was merged into TikTok in August 2018, moving its users onto ByteDance's recommendation feed.
TikTok went on to pass 1 billion monthly users in 2021 and became ByteDance's main overseas product.
2017
ByteDance bought the Los Angeles-based photo and video slideshow app Flipagram in 2017, an early step into US short-video creation before the Musical.ly deal.
ByteDance is growing in three directions. First, international commerce: TikTok Shop had about 400 million active consumers and gross merchandise value approaching $100 billion in 2025, according to Jiemian, and entered Japan and Latin America that year. Second, AI: the Seed 2.0 model family launched in February 2026 alongside the Seedance 2.0 video model, powering the Doubao app and Volcano Engine's enterprise services. Third, portfolio focus: in March 2026 ByteDance agreed to sell Moonton, developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group for about $6 billion, freeing capital and attention for AI.
ByteDance makes money by selling attention and transactions on recommendation-driven apps. Advertising on TikTok, Douyin and Toutiao, sold through TikTok for Business outside China and Ocean Engine in China, is the largest source of revenue. E-commerce adds commissions and merchant advertising from Douyin E-commerce and TikTok Shop. Livestream viewers buy virtual gifts whose value is split with creators. Enterprise units such as Volcano Engine (cloud computing and Doubao model access) and Lark/Feishu sell subscriptions and usage. Since January 2026, TikTok's US data, algorithm and moderation sit in TikTok USDS Joint Venture, while TikTok global's US entities keep e-commerce, advertising and marketing activities, according to the joint venture's launch announcement.
Major deals include Musical.ly and Flipagram (2017), Moonton and Pico (2021), and a 75.01% stake in Indonesia's Tokopedia (2024).
ByteDance bought Musical.ly in November 2017 in a deal widely reported at up to $1 billion and merged it into TikTok in August 2018.
Yes. In January 2024 TikTok bought 75.01% of Tokopedia from GoTo Group for $840 million and combined it with TikTok Shop Indonesia, with a commitment to invest up to $1.5 billion more over time. GoTo kept 24.99%.
ByteDance agreed in March 2026 to sell Moonton, developer of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group for about $6 billion.
ByteDance acquired VR headset maker Pico in August 2021 to compete in virtual reality hardware with Meta's Quest line.
Yes, in an absolute masterstroke of M&A, ByteDance acquired the lip-syncing app Musical.ly in 2017 for roughly $1 billion. They absorbed its massive US teenage user base and completely rebranded it into TikTok.
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