According to Bloomberg reported by pulsestacks on May 21, ByteDance has acquired Chinese headphone manufacturer Oladance for around $50 million (approximately 362 million RMB at the current exchange rate). This move marks the latest step in ByteDance's development of wearable devices.
Sources familiar with the matter, who chose to remain anonymous, revealed that ByteDance has finalized the deal and deployed employees to collaborate with Oladance, a Shenzhen-based startup founded five years ago. The acquisition also brings in a team of experienced former Bose engineers, as reported.
ByteDance is exploring a new hardware category, seeking to expand its social ecosystem beyond smartphones. A source familiar with the matter said ByteDance's management sees the potential of transforming wearable devices into a generative AI service platform, with its Douyin chatbot recently becoming the most downloaded ChatGPT-like app in China.
ByteDance and Oladance have not responded to inquiries about the transaction.
Pulsestacks' query on the Oladance official website reveals that the company has launched multiple open-back headphone products, claiming to have users in over 30 countries worldwide, with a user base spanning China, the United States, Spain, Thailand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, India, Japan, France, Germany, Switzerland, and more.
