From the company’s owner, not your favourite TikTok influencer.

Behind every successful TikTok video is a bunch of clever algorithms helping to make it a viral sensation. The company’s owner, ByteDance, launched a new division last month called BytePlus which sells TikTok’s AI technologies.

Up for grabs is the recommendation algorithm behind the ForYou feed, computer vision tech, automatic speech-to-text and text-to-speech, data analysis tools, and...