ByteDance recently announced through an internal email that the first "Doubao Stock" repurchase initiative will officially start on April 15. The repurchase price is set at $13.08, representing a 30% increase from the initial grant price of $10. This premium directly reflects the valuation growth of ByteDance's large model business over the past six months, providing significant paper gains and exit channels for core technical personnel.

ByteDance Douyin Doubao Large Model

It is reported that "Doubao Stock" is a long-term incentive plan (LTI) launched by ByteDance in October 2025. Designed specifically for the large model business related to Doubao, this plan introduces a virtual stock repurchase mechanism similar to ByteDance stock options, aiming to enhance the attraction of top AI talents by linking financial returns closely with business growth. Currently, this incentive program has been fully implemented in the Seed department responsible for large model pre-training and cutting-edge exploration.

This move follows previous transparency statements from ByteDance's senior management regarding the salary system of the Seed team. By establishing an independent Doubao Stock repurchase loop, ByteDance aims to build a more flexible allocation mechanism compared to traditional SaaS vendors in the competitive global AI market. This attempt to directly monetize the value of departmental business not only reduces the risk of core talent attrition but also provides a mechanism guarantee for the independent development and long-term value assessment of the large model business.