# Liang Rubo

> Liang Rubo is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of ByteDance. A Nankai University roommate of Zhang Yiming, he moved from engineering and product development into Lark, organizational management and, in 2021, the top job. His public profile remains sparse, but his record runs through ByteDance's central systems and products. He now frames AI as the company's rare next mountain, coupling investment in Doubao, Feishu and Volcano Engine with an unusually blunt fear of organizational mediocrity.

- **Role:** Co-founder, Chairman and CEO at ByteDance
- **Organizations:** ByteDance, Jiujiufang, Accelicon Technologies, Nankai University
- **From:** Yichun, China
- **Nationality:** Chinese
- **Education:** Nankai University
- **Known for:** Co-founded ByteDance in 2012 and helped build its early technical and product systems., Led or helped develop products and systems including Toutiao, Douyin and Feishu/Lark., Became ByteDance's CEO and chairman in 2021.

## Career timeline

- **2005** — After graduating from Nankai University, joined microelectronics software company Accelicon Technologies as an engineer.
- **2009** — Joined Zhang Yiming to co-found Jiujiufang, a vertical real-estate information and search platform.
- **2012** — Co-founded ByteDance in Beijing; served as CTO and led early product research and development as Toutiao launched.
- **2012-2016** — Led product research and development spanning Toutiao, creator tools, advertising and user-growth systems.
- **2016-2019** — Led the Feishu/Lark collaboration product and ByteDance's efficiency engineering work.
- **2019-2021** — Moved into group human resources and corporate management, overseeing a period of rapid headcount growth.
- **2021** — Succeeded Zhang Yiming as ByteDance CEO and chairman; reorganized the company into six business units in November.
- **2024** — Named to the TIME100 AI list; with Zhang Yiming, donated RMB 200 million to Nankai University for mathematics research and talent development.
- **2025** — At Volcano Engine's FORCE conference, described AI as being in the first 500 metres of a marathon and pledged sustained investment.
- **2026** — Made Doubao/Dola a near-term company priority and presented an integrated Doubao, Feishu and Volcano Engine push for AI productivity and enterprise tools.

## Achievements

- Co-founded ByteDance in 2012 and helped build its early technical and product systems.
- Led or helped develop products and systems including Toutiao, Douyin and Feishu/Lark.
- Became ByteDance's CEO and chairman in 2021.
- Oversaw ByteDance's transition toward a six-business-unit structure in 2021.
- Was included in the 2024 TIME100 AI list.
- Jointly donated RMB 200 million with Zhang Yiming to Nankai University in 2024 to support mathematics research and talent development.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — At the Feishu Future Infinite Conference and Doubao Work launch in Beijing, Liang said ByteDance had integrated the strengths of Doubao, Feishu and Volcano Engine and would invest more in enterprise AI and productivity.
- **2026-06** — At the 2026 Volcano Engine FORCE conference, Liang said ByteDance was narrowing its business focus around AI and that earning customer trust and strengthening security had appeared in his personal OKRs for several years.
- **2026-01** — At ByteDance's first all-hands meeting of the year, Liang identified Doubao/Dola as the company's near-term 'peak' and called for stronger model capabilities and talent density.
- **2025-06** — At Volcano Engine's FORCE conference, Liang compared the AI era to the opening 500 metres of a marathon and said ByteDance would invest for the long term.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bytedance.com/
- LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/rubo-liang-54744824

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/liang-rubo
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26