Photo credit: ByteDance

In July 2021, Beijing clamped down on China’s lucrative private tutoring industry, banning for-profit tutoring in core school subjects and restricting foreign investments in the sector. TikTok parent ByteDance, which operates an education arm, was also affected by the decision, leading to layoffs.

Now, however, ByteDance has shifted its edtech plans to the US, and is reaping the rewards, reported South China Morning Post. Gauth, an “AI homework helper” from ByteDance subsidiary GauthTech, was the country’s second-most downloaded education app as of yesterday, behind only Duolingo.