ByteDance’s latest funding round will value the TikTok parent company at $180 billion, making it the most valuable VC-backed company in the world. 

The round, led by Sequoia Capital and KKR, is close to wrapping up after reportedly raising $2 billion. It would be the most valuable financing round in the private market this year.

Skyrocketing Value: When Beijing-based ByteDance went through its last financing round in 2018 it was valued at $78 billion; earlier this year, that valuation rose to $140 billion. 

The increase in ByteDance’s valuation comes amid its ongoing conflict with the U.S. government. 

• July 31: President Donald Trump announces plans to ban TikTok from operating in the U.S., citing data concerns related to its Chinese origins
• Nov. 6: Oracle, Walmart and U.S.-based ByteDance investors announce plans to form a new entity that will manage the app’s U.S. user data
• Dec. 7: A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s second attempt at a TikTok ban in the U.S.

TikTok will end 2020 as the year’s most-downloaded app, overtaking Facebook. As of August, there were 50 million daily U.S. users.  

The UFC’s recent woes continue. 

Five days after announcing a fighter roster downsize, the company is facing a lawsuit that could result in $5 billion in payouts.

The UFC earned $900 million in total revenue last year, but President Dana White projects the organization will lose more than $100 million without ticket revenue in 2020.

The lawsuit, which was first filed in 2014 and granted class action status on Thursday, claims UFC has suppressed fighter wages, abusing its power as a monopoly in MMA.

Anyone who fought in the UFC between 2010 and 2017 — about 1,200 fighters — could be in line to receive money. 

The case is built on the premise that the UFC historically pays its fighters less than 20% of its total annual revenue, as compared to the 48%-50% share players get in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL.

The plaintiffs — Cung Le and a few other former fighters — are also reportedly seeking larger structural changes, including banning long-term contracts.

There’s still a long way to go before the case could head to trial or be settled.

The UFC reportedly plans to appeal the class action status and has filed a motion for summary judgement, arguing that the fighters have no case. 

FC Barcelona and French national team forward Antoine Griezmann cut ties with Chinese tech giant Huawei, citing “strong suspicions” the company has contributed to the atrocities against Muslim minority Uighurs in Xinjiang, China.

Huawei is believed to have aided development of a facial recognition software to identify members of the Uighur ethnic group, known as the “Uighur alert.” 

Griezmann has helped promote Huawei’s products since he signed on as a brand ambassador in 2017. The company surpassed Samsung as the world’s top smartphone seller earlier this year.

China has faced global scrutiny over its policies and human rights violations in the Xinjiang region, a resource-rich territory that produces raw materials for apparel and electronics companies.

Human rights groups have accused the country of holding as many as one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in forced labor interiment camps.

Major companies that recently lobbied a Congressional bill aimed at banning products manufactured using forced labor from Xinjiang:

• Nike
• Coca-Cola
• Apple

Nike distanced itself from Xinjiang in March, stating its suppliers were not using textiles or yarn, or sourcing products, from the region.

Adidas and Patagonia were also suspected of having supply chains aided by forced labor in Xinjiang. Both companies have since stated they will cut all ties with the region.