ByteDance Launching AI Apps Before TikTok U.S. Sale

In 2024, Congress passed a law requiring TikTok—and any other app owned by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance—to be sold or face a ban in the United States.

ByteDance’s wave of new products reflects both competitive necessity and geopolitical ambition. (Photo: ByteDance Facebook)

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) not to enforce the law, a reprieve that has kept TikTok online beyond its January deadline, Forbes Daily reported.

That non-enforcement order has done more than just keep TikTok alive: it has allowed ByteDance to continue developing and releasing new products in the U.S. and globally. Many of these focus on AI.

In addition to new apps for the Chinese market, ByteDance has rolled out English-language tools such as Trae, an AI coding assistant; Dreamina, an AI image generator; PicPic, a generator of AI avatars; EasyOde, a music licensing platform; and Agent TARS, an open-source AI agent.

Some of these products obscure their ties to ByteDance, often being launched through Singapore-based subsidiaries.

ByteDance’s wave of new products reflects both competitive necessity and geopolitical ambition.

Trae’s functions, for instance, are similar to Microsoft’s VS Code, while Dreamina rivals Midjourney and Google Veo. At the same time, the new apps reinforce ByteDance’s role in the broader U.S.–China struggle for AI dominance.

As Trump has signaled plans to broker a deal for ByteDance to sell at least part of its interest in TikTok’s U.S. operations, one TikTok insider told Forbes that any such deal would likely extend beyond TikTok itself and include other ByteDance apps.