ByteDance, the Chinese parent of the hit video app TikTok, founded on April 19 a subsidiary engaging in telecommunications and automobile businesses.
According to the corporate data platform Tianyancha, the newborn company, named Chongqing Wanxiang Youche Technology Co.,Ltd., involves a registered capital of 1 million yuan ($153,850) and is 100% controlled by a wholly-owned subsidiary of ByteDance. Its line of business includes the sale of new cars and used cars, the retail and wholesale of auto parts, and the value-added telecommunications business, etc.
The foundation of the Chongqing-based subsidiary may be another sign of the blurring of the boundaries between carmakers and tech giants. In early March, some media outlets reported that the social media titan was investing in Chinese autonomous driving startup QCraft's latest fundraising round of at least $25 million.
Founded in 2019, QCraft has put its self-driving technologies into trial operation in minibuses. The company, also supported by IDG Capital, Vision+ Capital, and Tide Capital, plans to deploy at least 100 autonomous buses on open roads by the end of 2021.
Nonetheless, both ByteDance and QCraft have not made any comments yet.
Recently, technology companies in China have been racing to join the automobile field. At the end of March, the smart phone maker Xiaomi announced it will set up a subsidiary for smart electric vehicle business. The initial investment in the new company will be 10 billion yuan ($1.539 billion), while the total investment for the next decade will worth $10 billion. Xiaomi's chairman Lei Jun will serve CEO of the new EV subsidiary.
