36Kr has learned from multiple independent sources that ByteDance has established a new top-level business unit for artificial intelligence data and security. The unit is on the same organizational level as Seed, Flow, Douyin, and other major business units, and is led by Adam Wang.
It is ByteDance’s latest top-level unit focused on AI, following the creation of Seed and Flow at the end of 2023. Before taking his current role, Wang was head of platform responsibility and head of live streaming at TikTok. “The live streaming business Wang oversaw was once one of TikTok’s biggest sources of revenue, and he had a strong track record within ByteDance,” said a person close to the company.
36Kr contacted ByteDance for comment, but the company had not responded as of publication.
After building out its model and product organizations, ByteDance is now turning its attention more directly to AI data.
According to 36Kr, one precursor to the new unit was a data team established in 2023 by Fu Yue, a member of TikTok’s founding team. The team, which initially numbered around 100 employees, supported overseas businesses such as Dola, the international version of Doubao, and TikTok before taking responsibility for data procurement and quality control for Seed’s model training. It included product managers, data engineers, procurement specialists, quality control and operations staff, and security and compliance personnel.
