#Reddit buys TikTok rival Dubsmash in video content push

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.

With Post wires