ByteDance hit a fresh valuation of about $480 billion after a Chinese investment firm grabbed a block of its shares in a heated auction that ran on Wednesday, according to data from Bloomberg.
The stake, sold by Bank of China Group Investment, was first priced near $200 million, which reflected a $360 billion valuation for ByteDance, but that price did not survive the bidding war for long.
The auction pulled in around seven bidders, the people said, and the number kept pushing the price higher. Capital Today, run by Kathy Xu, ended up paying close to $300 million for the shares.
The valuation implied by that final bid landed just below half a trillion dollars, showing how much investors still want exposure to ByteDance even with the pressure around TikTok’s future in the United States.
Capital Today wins the auction and pays up
The stake sale marks one of the biggest secondary trades tied to ByteDance this year, the people said. The interest came from the fact that the bank’s block of stock was a rare batch of existing shares available in size.
One person involved in the talks allegedly said bidders saw it as a chance to buy into a company that has strong global reach, fast‑moving artificial‑intelligence tools and massive content and ads demand.
The firm was founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming and has built several of China’s most used digital platforms.
TikTok alone has roughly 170 million users in the US, but the platform remains under political pressure. The Trump administration is working on a deal that would move the majority ownership of TikTok’s US operation to American investors.
A forced sale had long been a threat hanging over ByteDance, but the current talks aim to avoid the harshest scenario.
Reportedly, ByteDance may still keep around half of the profit from the US business even after it gives up majority control.
Trump has said publicly that the TikTok deal is “basically done” and tied it to larger US‑China trade discussions. Beijing has not said whether it will approve the deal, leaving the final step open.
ByteDance buybacks rise and investors lift valuations
The new valuation from Capital Today lands far above recent internal numbers. In September, ByteDance started a buyback plan for employees at around $330 billion, the people said. The company is also preparing its annual buyback program for institutional investors this month.
Several major holders, including SoftBank Group and Fidelity Investments, have already increased the value of their stakes to more than $400 billion, according to earlier Bloomberg reporting.
The jump also puts ByteDance close to the world’s most valuable startup. OpenAI sits at roughly $500 billion, based on CB Insights data, while Elon Musk’s SpaceX stands near $400 billion.
Investors who joined the auction told contacts that the price jump made sense because the company’s AI systems, ads engine and global content footprint are expanding fast.
Xu, who founded Capital Today, has backed several of China’s major tech names, including Meituan and JD.com. People close to the auction said her win reflects the scale of interest in ByteDance anytime a meaningful block of shares becomes available.
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