ByteDance’s new valuation: $550 billion!

According to a Reuters report on February 25, investment firm General Atlantic is planning to sell part of its stake in ByteDance, with this potential deal valuing the Chinese social media giant at up to $550 billion.

This equity divestiture is the first major transaction since the Trump administration approved the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations in January this year. The latest valuation marks a significant 66% increase compared to the over $330 billion pricing during last year's employee stock buyback.

Against the backdrop of private market valuations rising sharply and persistently, this transaction intuitively reflects the capital market's high recognition of ByteDance. This not only validates the attractiveness of its assets, but also greatly boosts other investors' expectations of receiving substantial returns when the company eventually goes public.

Sources revealed to the media that General Atlantic started the share sale process in recent weeks and hopes to complete the transaction in March. The specific financial terms of the deal and details such as General Atlantic's holding percentage after the sale have yet to be disclosed, and neither ByteDance nor General Atlantic have commented on the matter.

Rising Valuations Test Market Appetite

Although the valuations of unlisted companies often vary greatly in secondary market transactions, such new deals are usually seen as touchstones for testing investor appetite for the company’s stock.

According to sources cited by Reuters, General Atlantic internally values its ByteDance holdings at $550 billion, so it is reasonable to expect that the planned secondary market transaction would be priced no lower than this level.

This price level not only far surpasses last year's employee buyback pricing, but also carries a 15% premium compared to a secondary market transaction last November. At that time, Capital Today outbid several institutions in a fierce equity auction, acquiring part of ByteDance equity from Bank of China Group Investment Limited at a valuation of about $480 billion, with a transaction amount of $300 million. This deal reflected strong investor demand for the scarcity of its shares.

According to CB Insights, based on current market valuations, ByteDance has surpassed SpaceX in valuation among global startups, second only to OpenAI at $500 billion, firmly ranking among the world's most valuable startups.

Fund Cycles Drive Early Investors to Cash Out

General Atlantic's move to sell shares is primarily driven by the lifecycle of some of its funds. Private equity firms typically have 10 to 12 years to raise funds, invest, and return capital to investors.

Reuters reports that General Atlantic first invested in ByteDance as early as 2017, when the valuation was only about $20 billion. After years of growth, the firm has achieved tremendous returns on paper, and its CEO Bill Ford still serves as a member of ByteDance’s board of directors.

General Atlantic is not the only firm managing holdings from matured funds. According to Reuters last month, venture capital firm HSG (formerly Sequoia China) is also raising a continuation fund, planning to acquire ByteDance shares from its expiring funds at a valuation of $350-370 billion.

Strong Performance Supports High Valuation

ByteDance is highly sought after on the private market mainly due to its strong performance in global operations and financial data, as well as its potential in AI technology deployment.

According to Reuters last year, ByteDance's quarterly sales have already surpassed Meta, the parent company of Facebook. By sales, it has become the world’s largest social media company. Data shows ByteDance’s annual profit in 2025 is expected to reach about $48 billion.

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