Thread by @kevinsxu

0/ "What is TikTok Worth to Whom and Why?"

NEW post explores this (possible) sale from strictly a biz angle, esp for MSFT/WMT & ORCL, along 5 dimensions:

-product synergy (yep I used "synergy")
-user/data
-tech
-brand
-people

Some nuggets...(thread)
interconnected.blog/what-is-tiktok…

1/ Product synergy exists w/ either Azure or Oracle Cloud. Running TikTok during hypergrowth w/o issues is legit accomplishment for a cloud, will help differentiate in a heated global cloud race.

E-commerce w/ Walmart is more longterm, could help differentiate Walmart+ later.

2/ User+data valuable #obvi. Data Density determines a lot of the value in a tech biz, *more* valuable IMHO than core AI tech in TikTok.

Easier to build AI engine if you have the data than the other way around. (Buyer may not get the tech anyways due to China's new regulation.)

3/ TikTok is a cool brand, how Insta, Snap, Vine used to be cool. MSFT/WMT or ORCL can all use a brand reboot (tho MSFT is becoming "cool" among devs)

YouTube should've been able to build TikTok b4 TikTok. Alas, not much has changed in the last 5 years except more ads.

4/ Employees+leadership sadly worth the *least* in an acquisition, not b/c they aren't good, but few have been there long enough to be productive, before the geopolitical “shit” hit the fan.

Kevin Mayer already quit, but he was always more of a “mercenary” than “missionary”.

5/ I leveraged great reporting by @LichtSpektrum @mnickelsburg & research by @fs0c131y to write this post. Grateful 🙏

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