Facebook, Snap Held Talks to Buy TikTok Rival Dubsmash

Facebook and Snap recently held talks to buy Dubsmash, a lip-syncing video app that has surged in popularity alongside a crop of other TikTok competitors.

Dubsmash was approached by both Facebook and Snap about a deal in recent weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter. The acquisition talks progressed far enough to include discussions of a price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the person said. 

The interest in Dubsmash highlights how larger tech companies are rushing to capitalize on growing consumer interest in short-form video, a category defined by TikTok’s explosive growth. With the U.S. government now threatening to ban TikTok due to its Chinese ownership, uncertainty about the app’s future has heightened the appeal of rival apps like Triller and Byte as well as Dubsmash.