ByteDance invests in Chinese Wikipedia-like site in search push

As China’s Internet shifts from desktop to mobile, ByteDance is increasingly chipping away at advertising sales from Baidu, drawing users to its umbrella of apps from news aggregation to short video platforms. — Reuters

ByteDance Inc has invested in a prominent Chinese Wikipedia-like platform, stepping up its Internet search challenge to rival Baidu Inc.

A unit of ByteDance, the world’s most valuable startup according to CB Insights, now holds 22% of the registered capital of Baike.com, according to a recent update on a Chinese government website that publishes company registration information. Baike, which means encyclopedia in Chinese, is the country’s second largest such reference platform and was founded in 2005 by chief executive officer Pan Haidong. Pan is no longer listed as a shareholder of his company, the website shows.