Seeing all of the controversies against TikTok and some countries even banning TikTok, a small rival app named Likee has been getting quite many users’ interaction from around the globe. Likee now has over 150 million active users every month. Likee app was firstly named as “LIKE” till the middle of 2019, but then it was rebranded and redesigned as Likee.
You must be wondering who owns the likee app. Likee app is owned by a Singapour-based company called BIGO technology, whose parent company is JOYY (Jolly ordinary yearnful Yonder), a Chinese company listed on the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation). Likee app was found by “Jason Hu” (Co-founder of BIGO Technology)
This article will mostly be about the Likee app’s founders, growth, strategies, and many more.
What is Likee?
Likee, also formerly known as LIKE is a short video sharing and creating app available for download on both IOS and Android. Likee is currently owned by a Singaporean company that goes by the name BIGO Technology. The parent company of BIGO Technology is JOYY inc (Jolly ordinary yearnful Yonder), a Chinese company listed on the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation). The founder of likee is Jason Hu an entrepreneur from Singapour who is also the co-founder of BIGO Technology.
Likee has been getting a lot of recognition, especially after Tiktok going through huge controversies throughout the world. This is fair as TikTok has been failing to satisfy its users. Likee now has over 600 million downloads and more than 1.5 Billion users from more than 150 countries. Likee app is available in more than 40 languages.
In June 2020, Likee was banned by the Government of India along with 58 other apps which were mostly owned by China claiming that the apps were a threat to their Soverginity and security of the country. Which was a great loss for Likee as a majority of Likee apps users were from India. But, although even after the ban, many users are still seen to be active from India using third-party applications.
In 2017, the year when it was established, Google play rated Likee as one of the best entertainment applications. Likee is still a popular short video making and editing app because of its amazing editing tools and 4D stickers.
BIGO Technology-Owner of Likee App
BIGO Technology was founded in 2014 by David Li and Jason Hu in Singapour.BIGO Technology is one of the fastest-growing Singapore technology companies worldwide, with more than 30 offices and 6 research and development (R&D) centers around the world. Powered by Artificial Intelligence (A.I) technology, BIGO’s video-based products and services have gained immense popularity, with nearly 400 million monthly active users in more than 150 countries.
BIGO Technology is Dedicated to creating a better-connected world for all, BIGO provides holdings of video broadcasts and VoIP-related products and services powered by advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. The major products of BIGO Technology include BIGO LIVE, Likee (Formerly known as LIKE), and imo(messaging software).
JOYY-Parent Company of BIGO Technology
JOYY inc which stands for Jolly Ordinary Yearnful Yonder Established in April 2005, is a front global video-based social media floor. JOYY inc was listed on the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation) on November 21, 2012.
From social networks, Internet finances, and many more JOYY generates and produces a variety of services such as YY LIVE, BIGO LIVE, Likee, HAGO, and YY dating. In March 2019, JOYY completed the purchase of BIGO which had a market estimate of US$2.1B.
JOYY commits to quicken our globalization process and increase its international influence, to become a global leading video-based social media platform for all. Now, there are over 7,000 employees in JOYY Group, and 65% of them are engineers working day and night.
JOYY’s mission is to “Connect People and Enhance Their Lives Through Video,” says the official website of JOYY. JOYY aims to become a unique and globalized company in China’s Internet industry through continuously upgrading its technological resources and improving its influence on the international market.
Cofounders of Likee App (BIGO Technology)
LIKE is an app that lets you create and share fun videos with all your friends and followers. The parent company of Likee is BIGO Technology which is owned by JOYY a Singapore-based company.
LIKE is a really fun social network. You can find lots of interesting videos whenever you want and share your videos with the app’s community and on other platforms as well. Plus, if you like a content creator’s videos, you can add the videos’ creator to your friend list and also talk to them.
Currently, there are two Co-founders of the Likee app
Jason Hu: Co-founder And President of BIGO Technology
| Name | Jason Hu |
| Position In BIGO Technology | co-founder |
| DOB | N/A but most probably in his forties |
| Position In Likee | Founder |
| Percentage of Company’s Ownership | N/A |
| Net Worth | N/A |
| Major Contribution on Likee | N/A |
Jaso Hu started working When he was 19, at a factory in China, He amazingly got into a postgraduate computer science program at Peking University with only a junior college degree that he had acquired while in technical secondary school and passing the entrance exams.
After jobs at Microsoft and Alibaba Group Holding, Hu joined Guangzhou-based, US-listed live broadcaster JOYY in 2011. He took the recognition of JOYY’s co-founder and chairman David Li Xueling for his amazing work ethic. He says “I’d never thought I would end up leading a start-up worth billions of US dollars.” David Li Xueling handpicked him to be part of the founding team of the new Singapore-based enterprise in 2014.
Now in his forties, Jason Hu operates the power of co-founder and president of BIGO Technology and Likee respectively.
David Xueling Li: Co-founder And CEO of BIGO Technology
| Name | David Xueling Li |
| Position In BIGO Technology | CEO |
| DOB | 1973 (age 48 years) |
| Position In Likee | co-founder |
| Percentage of Company’s Ownership | N/A |
| Net Worth | 1.6 billion USD (2021) |
| Major Contribution on Likee | N/A |
David Li was the chief editor at Chinese portal Netease.com before co-founding YY. David received an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the Renmin University of China in 1997. Earlier in David’s career, he founded CFP.cn which is a copyright trading platform for journalists and amateur photographers.
David Li is currently the chairman and co-founder of YY, which is a NASDAQ-listed live streaming and social media platform based in China and also many other companies
Jason Hu Journey from Factory Worker to Co-founder of Likee
Jason Hu had a simple start. He was working at a factory in China when he was 19 years old. Jason Hu, who only had a junior college degree, appeared for national graduate entrance exams and got selected for a post-graduate computer science program at Peking University. Jason worked with Alibaba, Microsoft, and other famous companies.
Then he joined ‘JOYY’ (Jolly ordinary yearnful Yonder) also earlier known as YY. JOYY is a leading video-based social media platform. JOYY’s founder Li Xueling was quite impressed with Jason Hu’s way of solving problems and selected him as the co-founder of JOYY’s Singapore-based venture ‘BIGO Technology‘, which was originated in 2014.
The idea behind the Name Likee
The leading social media app was not always known as “Likee” before mid-2019 it was known as “LIKE” but then they added the extra “e” which gives us three meanings
First, to Easily create amazing videos,
Second, to Explore a wider world and capture special moments and,
Third, to Encounter interesting discoveries and people,
All Es motivates content creators to grow with the nearby feature. Likee has been working hard to make itself even a bigger and open platform for underrated artists.
Likee Competitors, Networth, and Future
It is best to say that Likee is the biggest competitor of TikTok and TikTok’s biggest competitor is Likee. We all know about all the criticism towards TikTok all around the globe but Likee is not immune either. We got to know this after Likee got banned in India along with hundreds of other Chinese-owned apps as the Government of India says “threat to sovereignty and security of the country”.
Sadly Likee went down the hill due to the ban as most of the Likee users were from India. It is safe to say that the only competitor Likee has to worry about right now is Tiktok. Likee’s parent company BIGO Technology is currently worth $200 million.
Likee has grown its numbers over the years and we can also definitely see it growing in the future. Of course, everything takes time and so will Likee’s growth. We can say that Likee is going to have a good future by looking at different aspects.
Like has been constantly developing new interactive and super realistic stickers and editing tools, exactly what content creators are currently looking for. Likee has also been working to make Editing videos and even capturing videos much easier and simpler. Even after the ban, Likee has been working even harder to make it a global leading social media platform.
Is Likee App Owned by China?
To be straight, yes Likee is an app owned by china as Likee’s parent company is BIGO Technology which is owned by a china based company JOYY which is listed on NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation). Likee is based in Singapore but as its owner is a Chinese company it is considered as a china owned app.
Is Likee Also Banned in India?
Yes Like got banned In June 2020, by the Government of India along with 58 other apps which were majorly owned by China. The government of India banned these apps claiming that they were a threat to the Soverginity and security of the country. Which was a great loss for Likee as the majority of the Likee app’s users were from India.
keeping everything in mind we can see that Likee has a very high possibility in the short video market right now. If Likee makes right marketing decisions and takes all the steps right then it will be able to grab the market just as they did in India.