By Manskar
Reddit said it has acquired video-sharing platform Dubsmash, making it the latest social-media giant to mount a challenge to TikTok.
Seven-year-old Dubsmash lets users create and share videos of themselves lip-syncing to songs or clips from movies. Reddit said it will integrate Dubsmash’s video creation tools into its own platform in a move to expand its video content capabilities.
“Dubsmash elevates under-represented creators, while Reddit fosters a sense of community and belonging across thousands of different topics and passions,” Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said in a statement. “It’s clear that our missions closely align and that our community-focused platforms can coexist and grow as we learn from each other.”
Reddit did not disclose specific financial terms of the deal announced Sunday, but a company spokeswoman told Reuters that it involved a combination of cash and stock. All of Dubsmash’s staff will join Reddit but the app will maintain its own platform and brand, Reddit said.
Reddit’s foray into the short-video market came as rivals Facebook and Snapchat try to recreate TikTok’s magic. Facebook-owned Instagram launched a TikTok copycat called Reels in August, and Snapchat followed last month with its “Spotlight” feature.
Dubsmash’s service is similar to Musical.ly, the lip-syncing app that grew into TikTok after it was acquired by Chinese tech giant ByteDance in 2017.
But Dubsmash has struggled to match TikTok’s audience — its mobile app has been downloaded about 197 million times globally since launching, while TikTok’s has racked up nearly 2.6 billion downloads, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower.
