Two execs leave Chinese TikTok rival Kuaishou

Li Yongbao, the business algorithm strategy head of Kuaishou, and business assistant Peng Jiatong recently left the Chinese video platform, Leiphone announced in a WeChat post. The two executives have reportedly not left for roles at other companies.

Peng joined the TikTok rival in May 2020, serving as assistant to ex-CEO Su Hua. He also served as non-executive director of Kuaishou-backed classifieds site Zhihu, but news broke in May that he had resigned.

His resignation from Kuaishou reportedly came due to his lack of optimism in Kuaishou’s development and the fact that there were “no suitable positions” after Su left the firm.

Li mainly worked on the recommendation system algorithm at Kuaishou, and acted as one of the four core members of the technical direction team. It is still unclear why he left.

In the first quarter of 2022, Kuaishou managed revenue of US$3.3 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 23.8% – outperforming Bloomberg forecasts. However, the video-sharing app still fell short of its competitor Douyin.

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