Reddit to buy TikTok rival Dubsmash

Social network firm Reddit is buying short-video platform Dubsmash, becoming the latest company to expand in a space dominated by Chinese-owned TikTok.

In a statement, Reddit said it had been drawn to Dubsmash -- which reports over a billion video views a month -- because of its commitment to diversity and promoting under-represented voices.

"Both Reddit and Dubsmash share a deep-rooted respect for how communities come together," Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said.


"Dubsmash elevates under-represented creators, while Reddit fosters a sense of community and belonging across thousands of different topics and passions," he added.

About 25% of all Black teens in the US are on Dubsmash, and females represent 70% of users. About 30% of users log in every day to create video content, indicating a high level of retention and engagement. Dubsmash enables more than one billion video views per month, the company said in a statement.

While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, a spokeswoman for Reddit said the acquisition was based on a combination of cash and stock.

The success of ByteDance's TikTok has prompted many social media companies to add short-video services to their platforms, with Snapchat rolling out "Spotlight" in November and Facebook launching "Instagram Reels" earlier this year.

Reddit said in a blog post that the deal would give its users, who can already upload and stream videos, access to Dubsmash's editing and short-video creation tools.

The San Francisco-based company added that Dubsmash would maintain its own platform and brand. Dubsmash's entire team, including co-founders Suchit Dash, Jonas Druppel and Tim Specht, will join Reddit.