ByteDance Investors Say CEO Change Is Reaction to Beijing’s Tech Crackdown

Two investors in TikTok owner ByteDance said they supported Thursday’s surprise announcement by founder Zhang Yiming that he is stepping down as CEO of the world’s most valuable privately-held technology company. The move by Zhang to play a less prominent role and hand the reins to a trusted confidant, co-founder Liang Rubo, was an unfortunate but necessary measure amid a growing crackdown by Chinese regulators of the country’s most powerful companies and founders, these investors told The Information.

A future ByteDance initial public offering will likely make Zhang, who owns more than 20% of the company, China’s wealthiest person. If he were to maintain his CEO position, Zhang and ByteDance could become a bigger target in Beijing’s effort to increase its control over private industry, the investors said. The timing of a ByteDance IPO is unclear and last month the company said it had no imminent plans to go public.