TikTok owner ByteDance is shrinking its investment team and dissolving a sub-group focused on financial returns in response to regulatory crackdowns in China, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
ByteDance had divided its external investment arm into financial and strategic wings, with the latter aimed at funding businesses that could find synergies with its own.
Employees on the financial investments team have been told by ByteDance executives that the team will be disbanded and they have been encouraged to look for opportunities elsewhere, internally or externally, two of the sources told Reuters.
ByteDance said in a statement that it was disbanding its group-level strategic investment team and moving employees to various business units, after a review earlier this month highlighted investments with “low synergies”.
It did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the dissolving of the financial investments team.
