All eyes on TikTok’s throne

July 16, 2020

TikTok was just banned in India, by far its largest market. TikTok is now at increased risk of being banned in the U.S., its third-largest market.

If TikTok is indeed banned in the U.S., many apps are preparing to take its place. Pay special attention to one: Los Angeles-based Triller. The app was originally created by a pair of musical techies who wanted to edit music videos without complex software, but now it is a more robust version of TikTok (albeit a bit slower with a fraction of the downloads).

It claims to have jumped from a few hundred thousand users in India to tens of millions after the TikTok ban, thanks in part to some well-known influencers joining its platform. Triller, which last year raised $28M, is said to be in the midst of a large new fundraise being managed by UBS.

It also just quietly acquired a live-stream events app called Halogen. Could Triller convince investors that it will be the next in line to take TikTok’s place?

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TikTok's Replacements:

Dubsmash debuted in November 2014. One of the first apps of its kind, Dubsmash was initially very popular, garnering over 50M downloads from users in 192 countries, including several celebrity profiles. The app allows users to record videos of themselves lip-syncing to various audio clippings of their choice. The app is available in 20 different languages, including Hindi. It has high rankings in both the Google Play store and the App Store.

Vigo Video is a video editing app that functions a lot like Snapchat and Vine, where users can share videos that are only 15 seconds long and showcase a variety of talents such as dancing, singing, comedy, beauty, cooking, and more. Since the time frame is so short, it challenges video makers to showcase their best stuff.

KWAI is an adorable social media app that allows its users to shoot short, cute videos where one can lip-sync to his or her favorite songs and movie dialogues. Most popular videos on KWAI are generally in the category of beauty blogging, funny videos, dancing, prank videos, lipsyncs, and magic illusions. This app also has a reward system. The more followers you amass, the better the prizes. In order to make the users more interactive, the app frequently hosts challenges and fun contests. You can also stay up to date with the latest viral trends by following this app.

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Pattern Bioscience, Inc. announces $9M in additional funding to accelerate the development and clinical validation of its Digital CultureTM rapid bacterial identification and susceptibility testing (ID/AST) technology.

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RealityEngines.AI, announces that it is rebranding as Abacus.AI and launching its autonomous AI service into general availability. The company also today disclosed that it has raised a $13M Series A round led by Index Ventures’ Mike Volpi, who will also join the company’s board.

Bbot Inc., a restaurant and hospitality tech startup dedicated to simplifying and improving the ordering and payments process, announced a $3M seed funding round led by Craft Ventures, an early-stage venture fund headquartered in San Francisco.

Medly Pharmacy, a NYC-based full-service digital pharmacy, closes its $100M Series B funding.

Los Angeles-based Riptide Music Group has acquired boutique music placement and sync licensing company Hidden Track Music.

A startup called Lattice, whose platform helps track, reward and set goal achievement in the workplace, has closed a round of $45M to help address some of those issues.

QuinStreet, Inc., a leader in performance marketplace products and technologies, announces the acquisition of Modernize, a leader in home improvement performance marketing services. "Modernize Home Services" will serve as QuinStreet's flagship brand in home services going forward, advancing its mission to set the standard for transparency and trust in the home improvement and home services selection process, enabling millions of homeowners to make good and confident decisions.

Denver based MCA Connect, LLC (MCA), a leading system integrator that helps manufacturing companies implement Microsoft business application technology, announces that Los Angeles based Riordan, Lewis & Haden Equity Partners (RLH) has completed an investment in the company.

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