About Toutiao
Toutiao is a Media & Entertainment company based in Beijing (China) founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. Personalized news aggregator app. Toutiao has raised $3.1 billion across 4 funding rounds from investors including KKR, Sina and China Construction Bank. Toutiao has completed 4 acquisitions, including BaBe, Faceu and Flipagram. Toutiao was last valued at $11 billion in December 2016. Its website toutiao.com draws about 41.5 million monthly visits. Its focus areas include Internet First Media, News Portals, Aggregators and Long Stories.
Company details
Toutiao was founded in 2012 in Beijing, China, as a technology company in the digital media sector. Operations focus on a mobile app that aggregates news and articles. Content recommendations are generated through a deep learning engine, which analyzes user reading habits, time spent on articles, and social networking data to tailor suggestions. The platform serves users primarily in China.
- Headquarters Beijing, China
- Founders Zhang Yiming
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Website category News and Media
- Website toutiao.com
- Social X
Funding Insights of Toutiao
Toutiao has successfully raised a total of $3.1B across 4 strategic funding rounds. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $3.1B
- Total Rounds 4
- First Round $100M
(Jun 2014)
- Investors Count 5
All 4 funding rounds of Toutiao with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2018 | Series E | – | KKR | – | |
| Aug 2017 | $2B | Series E | – | General Atlantic | – |
| Dec 2016 | $1B | Series D | $11B | Sequoia Capital, China Construction Bank | – |
| Jun 2014 | $100M | Series C | – | Sequoia Capital |
| Date | Valuation | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2016 | $11B | •••••••• |
Last known valuation $11B (Dec 2016). 5 investors in total: 5 institutional.
Investors in Toutiao
Toutiao has secured backing from 5 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include KKR, Sina and China Construction Bank.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Multiple sectors are invested in by this private equity firm. | 1976 | kkr.com | New York, United States | |
Private equity fund focused on global markets | 1980 | generalatlantic.com | New York, United States | |
Sequoia Capital is engaged in venture capital investments. | 1972 | sequoiacap.com | ||
Financial and banking services are provided to consumers and corporations. | 1954 | ccb.com | Beijing, China | |
Provider of product testing and review services | 1998 | sina.com.cn | China |
Investor details for Toutiao
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
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People of Toutiao
2 people are tracked at Toutiao (2 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Zhang Yiming | Founder | Leadership |
Chen Lin | CEO | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Toutiao
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
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- Professional contacts
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Investments & Acquisitions by Toutiao
Toutiao has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 4 companies. Notable acquisitions include BaBe, Faceu and Flipagram.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
App-based news aggregation platform | babe.news | Jakarta, Indonesia | 2016 | Jun 2018 | •••• | |
Filters are added to photos via an app-based editing platform. | faceu.net | Shenzhen, China | 2015 | Feb 2018 | $300M | |
Photo-video stories with music are created and shared via app. | flipagram.com | Los Angeles, United States | 2013 | Jan 2017 | •••• | |
Video-based social networking platform | vigovideo.net | Xiamen, China | 2013 | Jan 2017 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Toutiao
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
- Deal sources
- Complete history
- Exports
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Timeline of Toutiao
8 dated milestones of Toutiao across 6 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Toutiao is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $100.0M.
- Milestone Reaches Decacorn status.
- Acquisition Acquires Vigo Video.
- Acquisition Acquires Flipagram.
- Acquisition Acquires Faceu.
- Acquisition Acquires BaBe.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series E,.
Web traffic of Toutiao
The website of Toutiao (toutiao.com) receives about 41.5M visits a month and ranks #1,113 among all websites worldwide, #132 in News and Media.
- Monthly visits41.5M
▲ 2.5% vs previous month
- Unique visitors8.5M
per month
- Global rank#1,113
among all websites
- Category rank#132
News and Media
- Bounce rate38%
- Pages per visit4.3
- Average visit3 min 08 sec
- DevicesDesktop 34% · Mobile 66%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Toutiao. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
163.com | 163.com | 100% | #315 | – | |
| sohu.com | 100% | 64.1M | #723 | View details | |
news.qq.com | news.qq.com | 97% | #5,262 | – | |
| thepaper.cn | 80% | 9.1M | #9,051 | View details | |
guancha.cn | guancha.cn | 79% | #5,811 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Toutiao
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- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
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Related news about Toutiao
Complete news archive for Toutiao
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Frequently Asked Questions about Toutiao
Toutiao was founded in 2012 and raised its 1st funding round 2 years after it was founded.
Toutiao is headquartered in Beijing, China.
Toutiao is a funded company, having raised a total of $3.1B across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series C of $100M, raised on Jun 2014.
Toutiao was founded in 2012 in Beijing, China, as a technology company in the digital media sector. Operations focus on a mobile app that aggregates news and articles. Content recommendations are generated through a deep learning engine, which analyzes user reading habits, time spent on articles, and social networking data to tailor suggestions. The platform serves users primarily in China.
Toutiao has 5 investors. Key investors include KKR, Sina, China Construction Bank, General Atlantic, and Sequoia Capital.
The valuation of Toutiao is $11B as of Dec 2016.
The website of Toutiao receives about 41.5 million visits a month and ranks #1,113 among all websites worldwide.