ByteDance is reportedly planning to launch an American version of its video-editing app
It's divest or die season.
As the clock ticks on TikTok’s fate in the U.S., parent company ByteDance is quietly moving to wall off more of its American operations, and not just TikTok. The company is reportedly preparing to launch a U.S.-specific version of its popular video-editing app CapCut, tentatively named “CapCut US,” according to recent reports.
It mirrors the company’s rumoured efforts to create a separate American version of TikTok, reported earlier by The Information. Together, these moves point to a strategy to comply with a 2024 divest-or-ban law requiring the company to divest from its American assets, or effectively shut them down, before the law catches up.
ByteDance has spent the past year grappling with how to comply. After losing its legal challenge to the law in the Supreme Court in January, it has caught a break at least three times since President Trump got back in office. Instead, his administration is pushing for a negotiated sale of TikTok.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
A growing list of bidders has emerged, including AI startup Perplexity, ad tech firm AppLovin, and a group of deep-pocketed U.S. investors reportedly backed by Trump. Any deal, though, would need approval from both the U.S. and Chinese governments, which is no easy task, especially with the recent tensions between the two countries.
Even if China agrees, what’s unclear is just how far ByteDance plans to go. Whether other ByteDance-owned apps like the Instagram-like Lemon8 or the AI-powered education app Gauth will get the same treatment remains unclear. But like TikTok and CapCut, they’re also subject to the same U.S. divestment law.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
In the meantime, CapCut, once just a handy tool for creators, has grown into a powerhouse in its own right. It's now the top photo and video app in Apple’s U.S. App Store, outranking Instagram and YouTube in the category. On Google Play, it’s been downloaded over 1 billion times. Creators, influencers, and everyday users rely on CapCut’s viral templates and slick editing tools to power their content.
But TikTok's preparation for a sweeping reorganisation of its American presence unfolds as competitors close in. YouTube is beefing up its editing tools. Meta just launched a CapCut clone called Edits, and it’s already climbing the App Store rankings, reaching No. 16 in Apple’s U.S. photo and video category. If ByteDance stumbles in transitioning users to its new U.S.-only apps, there’s no guarantee they’ll follow. American users may just jump ship.
Right now, ByteDance is doing what it can: reshuffling, renaming, repackaging, and hoping that’s enough to stay alive in the U.S. market a little longer. Whether it’s a smart play or just a stall tactic remains to be seen.
Either way, the race is on.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
