ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has topped the list of Asia's richest people for the first time, surpassing $105 billion thanks to his successful development of artificial intelligence technologies, which has allowed him to overtake tycoons from traditional sectors of the economy.
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has topped the list of Asia's richest people for the first time, surpassing $105 billion thanks to his successful development of artificial intelligence technologies, which has allowed him to overtake tycoons from traditional sectors of the economy.
Bloomberg reports on the change in the leader in the region, citing its own billionaires index (Bloomberg Billionaires Index).
According to analysts, the 43-year-old entrepreneur’s net worth has increased by more than $12 billion this month alone. This came after major investment firms including BlackRock, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price upgraded ByteDance’s valuation. The jump put Imin ahead of Indian industrial tycoon Gautam Adani. In total, since 2019, when Bloomberg began tracking the developer’s fortune, it has grown eightfold — from $13 billion to $105 billion.
Experts say the main driving force behind this financial success is not only TikTok's global popularity, but also the company's active expansion into the field of artificial intelligence. Currently, ByteDance operates the popular AI chatbot Doubao and the video generator Seedance.
“He played his cards right. He didn’t deviate from the course and continued to double down on AI investments,” explained Lian Jie Su, chief analyst at research firm Omdia. The expert noted that Zhang made a successful bet on developing his own technologies even as the US Congress was actively pressuring the social network’s management in 2023. The analyst also added that ByteDance’s vast array of social data is its main advantage for training future AI models.
