technology to circumvent Apple's privacy policies. The following month, ByteDance announced that it had created a new division called BytePlus to distribute the underlying platform of TikTok, so that others may launch similar apps. In August 2021, ByteDance acquired Pico, an Oculus-like virtual reality startup. In June 2022, the Financial Times reported on a culture clash at ByteDance's London office that has led to a staff exodus. Corporate affairs Management Zhang Yiming was ByteDance's chairman and CEO from its founding in 2012 until 2021, when co-founder Liang Rubo took over as CEO. On 19 May 2020, ByteDance and Disney released an announcement that Kevin Mayer, head of Disney's streaming business, would join ByteDance. From June 2020 to his resignation 26 August 2020, Mayer served as the CEO of TikTok and the COO of ByteDance, reporting directly to the company CEO Zhang Yiming. In 2021, Chew Shouzi, former CFO of Xiaomi, took over as TikTok CEO. As with many Chinese companies, ByteDance has an internal CCP committee with Vice President Zhang Fuping serving as the company's CCP Committee Secretary. Funding and ownership ByteDance is financially backed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, and Hillhouse Capital Group. As of March 2021, it was estimated to be valued at $250 billion in private trades. In April 2021, a state-owned enterprise owned by the Cyberspace Administration of China and China Media Group, the China Internet Investment Fund, purchased a 1% stake in ByteDance's main Chinese entity and placed a government official, Wu Shugang, on its board of directors. The Economist, Reuters, Financial Times have described the Chinese government's stake in ByteDance as a golden share investment. Partnerships ByteDance's China business has a strategic partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security for the ministry's public relations efforts. In 2019, ByteDance formed joint ventures with Beijing Time, a publisher controlled by the Beijing municipal CCP committee, and with Shanghai Dongfang, a state media firm in Shanghai. In 2021, ByteDance announced that its partnership with Shanghai Dongfang had never been in operation and was disbanded. Lobbying ByteDance's lobbying efforts in the U.S. are led by Michael Beckerman. According to disclosures filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, ByteDance has lobbied the United States Congress, White House, Department of Commerce, Department of State, and the Department of Defense. ByteDance's lobbying has included hiring K&L Gates, LGL Advisors, and other firms to influence