Fred Blackford, a British tech investor, has built a stake worth more than $500 million in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Blackford, who leads investment firm Future Positive Global, disclosed his position in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) on Thursday.
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Blackford Bets on ByteDance Valuation Gap
Before his latest $500 million bet, Blackford began acquiring ByteDance shares on the secondary market last year, citing a valuation gap between the company and its Silicon Valley peers. “There was a real mismatch between what we saw as a high-quality business and how it was priced,” Blackford stated.
He added that Future Positive Global plans to continue building its position in ByteDance, despite risks tied to investing in Chinese technology firms amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Furthermore, Blackford said the firm’s stake was assembled through a handful of transactions with U.S. and international investors. According to the report, ByteDance was not involved in the transactions and did not respond to a request for comment on the new investor.
ByteDance Hits Record Valuation
ByteDance has seen its valuation climb to about $550 billion following a proposed secondary equity sale. The deal was priced at that value amid reports linking the process to General Atlantic, one of ByteDance’s early investors, and strong demand from multiple buyers for existing shares.
Some commentary on the secondary market suggests that investor demand could support higher implied valuations of about $600 billion, though the widely reported figure currently remains $550 billion. This comes as the firm faces sustained U.S. national security scrutiny over TikTok’s ownership and data practices, including ongoing pressure to restructure its U.S. operations.
Is ByteDance Going to IPO?
As of April 2026, ByteDance remains a private company, with no official timeline announced for an initial public offering (IPO). As a result, its shares are not available to retail investors through standard brokerage accounts. Some private or accredited investors gain indirect exposure to its shares through firms that hold stakes in ByteDance, such as Oracle Corporation (ORCL) and equity firm General Atlantic.
