The world’s most valuable startup ByteDance has launched a standalone search app on Android app stores in China, 36Kr reported on Friday.
The app, named Toutiao Search, comes about half a year after ByteDance introduced a mobile search portal with the same name. At that time, a spokesperson for ByteDance told KrASIA the company had no plans to release a standalone search engine app.
Search results from Toutiao Search come mainly from ByteDance’s ecosystem of apps, including content aggregator Jinri Toutiao, video app Xigua (Watermelon), and short-video app Douyin. ByteDance did not mention if the app will be available on iOS.
The move constitutes ByteDance’s latest foray into the country’s search engine market, which is still dominated by Baidu, with a market share of 63.56%, followed by Sogou with 26.02%, and Shenma with 4.82%, according to market research firm StatCounter.
36Kr is KrASIA’s parent company.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.