BEIJING: Tik-tok owner ByteDance will sell its gaming studio Moonton to a Saudi-owned group for more than $6 billion, the firms and a person close to the matter said Friday, as the tech giant sharpens its focus on AI.&nbsp;The Beijing-based company is undergoing a broad restructuring aimed at shifting resources into its rapidly expanding artificial intelligence operations, a sector drawing heavy investment from Chinese tech majors.&nbsp;A person with knowledge of the negotiations between ByteDance and the Saudi-owned Savvy Games Group told AFP on condition of anonymity that the sides had &quot;signed an agreement for Savvy to acquire Moonton...for a purchase price of more than $6 billion&quot;.&nbsp;In an internal letter seen by AFP, Moonton chief executive Zhang Yunfan said the studio would &quot;become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Savvy&quot; once the deal closes and that its management would remain in place.&nbsp;&quot;This transaction has been thoroughly deliberated and discussed,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;We are proud of Moonton&#39;s impressive growth into a leading mobile gaming player in Southeast Asia. This transaction marks a natural next step in its journey,&quot; a ByteDance spokesperson told AFP.&nbsp;Founded in 2014 and based in Shanghai, Moonton developed several titles including the hit multiplayer mobile game &quot;Mobile Legends: Bang Bang&quot;, which boasts more than 110 million monthly players and is especially popular in Southeast Asia.&nbsp;Savvy Games Group is part of Saudi Arabia&#39;s Public Investment Fund, which has poured billions into gaming and e-Sports as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy.&nbsp;ByteDance entered gaming in 2018 and acquired Moonton for $4 billion three years later to widen its portfolio.&nbsp;The company has invested heavily in AI and operates one of the largest AI research teams among Chinese tech firms.&nbsp;In February, it launched Seedance 2.0, a video generator that stunned the industry with its ability to produce Hollywood-quality clips from simple text prompts.

Artificial Intelligence

ByteDance will reportedly sell gaming studio Moonton to Saudi-owned Savvy Games Group for over $6 billion, as the TikTok owner restructures to focus on artificial intelligence, while Moonton’s management stays and Savvy expands its gaming ambitions.

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TikTok owner ByteDance sells gaming unit to Saudi group for over $6 bn

TikTok owner ByteDance sells gaming unit to Saudi group for over $6 bn