TikTok, Tik…. The clock’s run out on ByteDance’s India dream

On Wednesday, ByteDance gave up on its India dream.

As the government made its ban on TikTok permanent, the most valued startup in the world announced its plans to lay off close to half of its workforce in its biggest international market, people in the know told The Economic Times.

According to estimates by mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower, TikTok clocked 659.5 million downloads in India—equivalent to 30% of all global downloads—and close to 300 million active users until the ban was imposed in June 2020 amid India-China border tensions.