Mark Cuban Funds TikTok Rival Amid the App's Looming Ban
The TikTok ban is looming ahead, but Mark Cuban might have a solution for social media users: Skylight. The new app, created by Tori White (CEO) and Reed Hermeyer (CTO), officially launched on April 1.
Cuban first put out the call on Jan. 14 ahead of the original TikTok deadline.
"So, I appreciate everybody reaching out to try come up with a TikTok alternative," Cuban said in a social media post. "I would be open to investing a supporting anybody or somebody who creates a TikTok replacement built on the AT Protocol."
The AT Protocol is also what powers Bluesky's network and "videos posted on Skylight can be seen and engaged with by users on Bluesky and other ATProto-based apps," per TechCrunch. Users will be able to upload videos up to three minutes in length which is similar to the Bluesky app.
@mcuban Let me know in the comments ! https://docs.bsky.app/docs/advanced-guides/atproto. #savetiktok #tiktok shout out to @Austin for the idea
♬ original sound - Mark Cuban
New features on the horizon include "support for sounds, duets, stitching, bookmarks, and playlists" and eventually more control for social media users on their feeds.
The availability of the app comes on the heels of President Donald Trump confirming that an agreement with ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, will be done by the April 5 timelier, according to Reuters.
“We have a lot of potential buyers,” he told reporters on March 31. “There’s tremendous interest in TikTok. I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”
The media outlet noted on March 28 that private equity firm Blackstone might be making a minority investment in TikTok for U.S. operations only.
Skylight is currently available on the Apple App Store and is in beta on the Google Play Store.
Related: Mark Cuban Blasts Elon Musk's 'Control' of Social Media Algorithms