China's ByteDance Buys Failing Smartisan's IP to Get Into Smart Education Hardware
LU QIAN
DATE:  Jan 23 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
China's ByteDance Buys Failing Smartisan's IP to Get Into Smart Education Hardware China's ByteDance Buys Failing Smartisan's IP to Get Into Smart Education Hardware

(Yicai Global) Jan. 23 -- China's  ByteDance Technology, the owner of popular applications of TikTok and  Jinri Toutiao, has bought some of the indebted smartphone maker  Smartisan Technology's patents to expand from software to hardware. Some  of Smartisan's employees have also joined the internet firm.

ByteDance bought some intellectual  property rights from Smartisan to explore businesses in the education  sector, the Beijing-based video titan told Yicai Global, revealing no  more details due to confidentiality of the deal. 

ByteDance is seeking to expand to  hardware with the upcoming fifth-generation mobile networks, analysts  said, adding that the firm purchased Smartisan's IP to get prepared for  intelligent hardware derivatives.

All of Smartisan's hardware staff members  and some software ones have signed labor contracts with ByteDance, a  source close to the Chengdu-based handset maker told Yicai Global.  ByteDance has confirmed to Chinese media that some of the phone firm's  former employees have joined its team. Smartisan's former chief designer  Xiao Peng also left for another Chinese phonemaker Oppo Electronics  late last year.

Smartisan, known for its hammer  silhouette-style insignia, met with its supplier Coolpad in court in  November to discuss unpaid bills. Founder Luo Yonghao has tried to  negotiate with Baidu, Huawei Technologies and Alibaba Group Holding  about a takeover but has reportedly not reached any agreements. 

Founded in 2012, ByteDance entered the  education sector last year with its online primary and secondary  education businesses such as Gogokid English training platform. The firm  has acquired business-to-business operations from QianWenWanDaBa Cloud  Computing Technology's Xueba platform and launched an app called Study  Hard for paid educational content.

Editor: Emmi Laine 

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Keywords:   Smartisan,ByteDance,education,acquisition