ByteDance’s CapCut, Doubao top global AI app downloads, outpacing ChatGPT: report

Video-editing app CapCut recorded 38.42 million downloads in July, while chatbot Doubao achieved 27.45 million downloads to outperform OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which had 19.81 million in the same period, according to Unique Capital’s report published on Tuesday.

Known as JianYing in mainland China, CapCut – an editing software with GenAI features widely adopted by TikTok, Douyin and Instagram users – had 323 million monthly active users (MAUs) in July, the report said. Doubao, launched in August last year, had 30.42 million MAUs in July, compared to ChatGPT’s 172 million in the same period.

The rise of CapCut and Doubao among the world’s most widely used GenAI apps reflects the tenacity of Beijing-based ByteDance, the world’s largest unicorn, in mobilising resources to quickly catch up with advances in this field.

In the first quarter, Liang set out three GenAI objectives for ByteDance: strengthen recruitment of AI talent, enhance organisational structure and improve fundamental research, according to people with access to internal briefings, who declined to be named because the information is private.

Earlier this month, ByteDance entered the nascent domestic market for Sora-style text-to-video services with its Jimeng app, which became available for download on Apple’s mainland App Store. That came after its July 31 release on various local Android app stores and the desktop version’s launch in May.