ByteDance appoints new leader for AI video tool Jimeng, considers DeepSeek integration

ByteDance names Cao Dapeng leader of Jimeng, explores DeepSeek integration.

: Cao Dapeng is the new leader for ByteDance's AI video platform, Jimeng. He brings experience from his previous role at 01.AI and ByteDance's Feishu. ByteDance aims to integrate Jimeng with DeepSeek to create an AI-driven Douyin. Jimeng's active users grew from 760,000 to nearly 2 million between December 2024 and February 2025.

ByteDance appointed Cao Dapeng, a former head at PopAI from 01.AI, as the new mobile product leader for its AI-generated video platform, Jimeng. Cao will report directly to Zhang Nan, the head of CapCut. The appointment indicates ByteDance’s strategic focus on elevating Jimeng, especially as the company plans to roll out an AI-driven version of Douyin within the next decade, making this development crucial to ByteDance's long-term aspirations in the AI-content creation space. Before joining 01.AI, Cao held a key position at Feishu, a ByteDance subsidiary, since 2021, which reflects ByteDance's tendency to hire leaders with entrepreneurial backgrounds, as evidenced by Cao's previous experience as a co-founder of an app called Nice.

Jimeng, which was launched under CapCut in May 2024, has rapidly increased its user base due to robust features such as AI image generation, smart canvas, and video creation tools. The platform gained further traction following the overwhelming success of DeepSeek, leading to numerous new interactive applications. This synergy between Jimeng and DeepSeek allows for the generation of detailed video scripts to be enhanced further by Jimeng's video creation capabilities.

According to data from QuestMobile, Jimeng witnessed a substantial user increase, from approximately 760,000 weekly active users in late December 2024 to almost 2 million users by mid-February 2025. This leap signifies a nearly threefold growth within a span of a month and a half, showing considerable interest and uptake in ByteDance's AI-driven tools and content creation solutions.

ByteDance’s vision for an AI-driven Douyin aligns with their overarching strategy to dominate the content creation domain. Adding a leader like Cao Dapeng to Jimeng highlights ByteDance's commitment to fostering innovative solutions powered by AI and to achieving a seamless integration with DeepSeek, further enabling the generation of enriched interactive content.

As a workplace collaboration tool akin to Slack or Microsoft Teams, ByteDance’s Feishu has already successfully incorporated DeepSeek, showcasing ByteDance's versatility and capability in efficiently deploying cutting-edge AI technologies across various platforms and verticals. ByteDance’s ongoing developments and strategic staffing choices reflect its resolve to lead in the ever-competitive AI landscape.

Sources: TechNode, LatePost, QuestMobile

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