ByteDance held its 2026 mid-year all-hands meeting on August 6. CEO Liang Rubo and Tan Dai, the newly appointed head of the "Creativity Service Platform" department, addressed all employees. Liang Rubo summarized ByteDance's AI business performance in the first half of 2026: the Doubao app maintained competitiveness in the C-end market, and the video generation model Seedance remained State of the Art (SOTA). However, the company also faced challenges, particularly with its large language models falling behind leading overseas competitors.
Liang Rubo stated that for large language models, ByteDance will continue to pursue in-house development, focusing on fundamentals. He emphasized accepting short-term setbacks while persisting in long-term optimization. Liang also discussed the rationale behind the recent integration of Doubao, Feishu, and Volcano Engine. He noted that AI's impact on productivity has exceeded expectations, making B2B operations more critical. Over 90% of new Feishu clients now also purchase Feishu's AI products. This integration is a strategic move to better develop high-quality products for office and productivity scenarios and to serve B2B clients more effectively amid the immense opportunities presented by AI.
Strategy and Development: High Priority, Lean Core, and Long-Term Optimization
When asked about the "narrowing business scope" mentioned at the Volcano Engine Force conference, Liang Rubo explained that in recent years, the company has concentrated resources on "highly prioritized" projects, divesting non-core businesses. He outlined the company's strategy as "high priority, lean core, and long-term optimization." "High priority" means creating incremental social value by doing things better than others and more efficiently for society. The "lean core" approach focuses efforts on a few critically important and interconnected tasks. ByteDance's core businesses—AI, information platforms, and transaction services—are closely linked, all leveraging computation for intelligence to fulfill the company's mission of "inspire creativity, enrich life." Liang added that a "lean core" business is substantial and influential enough to drive and support other ventures. For instance, Douyin, as a "spinal" business, aids e-commerce and local services. They hope Doubao will similarly become a "spinal" business. The 2026 annual theme "Climb the Peak" aims to enhance AI technical capabilities, integrating existing products through Doubao/Dola Assistant to reach new heights. Regarding "long-term optimization," Liang emphasized a user-centric approach focused on incremental social value, unwavering through short-term fluctuations. For AI, this means believing in AGI and persisting with in-house development.
Tan Dai used Seedance 2.0 as an example, explaining that in the B2B sector, only SOTA models can unlock high-value creative scenarios. Before this model, video generation was "more of a toy," but Seedance 2.0 has enabled its use in serious, commercial content production. He noted that Seedance's call volume is higher on weekdays than weekends, indicating its application in work and creation. Addressing the gap between ByteDance's large language models and overseas SOTA, Tan said the current priority is to strengthen fundamentals, aiming to enter the top tier long-term without shortcuts. Liang Rubo added that the key is to maintain proper processes and mentally accept short-term inferiority, persisting with in-house development and long-term optimization. He dismissed external speculation that pressure drove their in-house approach, stating the real reason is to build a solid technical foundation for long-term AGI realization.
Organizational Management: Clearer Leadership Accountability
On June 29, Liang Rubo sent an all-staff email updating ByteDance's culture and management principles, including leadership principles. External attention focused on updates like "dare to set high goals" and "go deep into the front line," with some misinterpreting the inclusion of leadership principles in performance reviews as "cutting middle management." Liang clarified at the meeting that these principles are not new but a consolidation of reflections from recent years. The update responds to the challenges and opportunities of the AI wave and the organization's current stage, aiming to clarify "how we should proceed." A ByteDance performance and incentives representative confirmed that incorporating ByteDance values and leadership principles into performance appraisals is an ongoing practice, not a new initiative. The recent iteration aims to emphasize these principles more. Addressing feedback that values and leadership are subjective compared to business output, the representative noted that adjustments to overall performance ratings based on these factors occur only in cases of exceptional performance (E and above) or significant deficiency (M- and below), rarely in the middle ranks. Such adjustments undergo rigorous calibration to ensure justification. Regarding concerns that "going deep into the front line" might burden junior staff, Liang explained that "constantly asking junior staff for reports is not going deep into the front line." Instead, it means directly participating in frontline work and engaging with users and customers to gather firsthand information. When asked about the criteria for "top talent in the AI era," Liang stated that the most important quality is the ability to create value using AI. Such talent must identify value, define problems, coordinate resources, and create value, leveraging AI to enhance efficiency. Given AI's development stage, the role least likely to be automated is the "Organizer." Therefore, individuals should enhance their capabilities as Organizers, referencing ByteDance values like "be externally sensitive," "go deep into facts," "don't get self-absorbed," and "keep learning."