TECH

ByteDance Joins Alibaba, Tencent in Lunar New Year AI Giveaway War

Published: Feb. 11, 2026 5:58 a.m. GMT+8

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Doubao, an AI app owned by ByteDance, announced the launch of a Lunar New Year marketing campaign on Feb. 10. Photo: VCG

ByteDance Ltd. has joined China’s Lunar New Year “red envelope” giveaway frenzy, squaring off against rivals from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc. in a costly war for dominance of the country’s fast-growing consumer artificial intelligence market.

On Tuesday, ByteDance unveiled a marketing campaign for Doubao, its flagship generative AI application, featuring cash giveaways and more than 100,000 prizes during the nationally televised Spring Festival Gala on Feb. 16, Chinese New Year’s Eve. Rewards include robots, cars and other high-value items.

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ByteDance launched a major red envelope and prize campaign for Doubao, its generative AI app, during China’s Spring Festival, competing with Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu.
ByteDance allocated nearly 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) for AI development and partnerships in 2026, while rivals spent billions on similar promotions.
Doubao led with 155 million weekly active users by December 2025 and climbed app store rankings due to aggressive holiday marketing.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

ByteDance Ltd.: ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese technology giant actively competing in the country's consumer AI market. Their flagship generative AI application, Doubao, is heavily promoted through cash giveaways and prizes during events like the Spring Festival Gala. ByteDance has allocated significant funds (nearly 20 billion yuan by 2026) for its broader AI initiatives, including the development of Doubao's large language model and expansion of its applications. Doubao was China's most widely used AI app in late 2025 with 155 million weekly active users.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is participating in China's Lunar New Year "red envelope" giveaway frenzy to compete in the consumer artificial intelligence market. Their AI chat app, Qwen, launched a 3 billion yuan "Spring Festival Treat Plan" on February 6. This promotion led Qwen to top Apple's App Store free-download chart in China.

Tencent Holdings Ltd.: Tencent Holdings Ltd. is participating in China's Lunar New Year "red envelope" giveaway frenzy. Its AI app, Yuanbao, launched a 1 billion yuan prize pool on February 1st as part of a high-stakes competition among Chinese tech giants to dominate the consumer AI market.

Baidu Inc.: Baidu Inc. is actively participating in China's "red envelope" giveaway frenzy against rivals like ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent. They launched a 500 million yuan cash giveaway on January 26th to gain an advantage in the country's rapidly expanding consumer AI market. This aggressive promotion highlights their significant investment in building a user base for their AI offerings.

Volcano Engine: Volcano Engine is a subsidiary of ByteDance. It is involved in ByteDance's broader AI push, specifically through an exclusive AI cloud partnership with the Spring Festival Gala. This partnership is part of ByteDance's strategy to dominate China's fast-growing consumer AI market.

Unitree Robotics: Unitree Robotics is a company that produces robots. Their robots are being offered as prizes in ByteDance's Doubao marketing campaign during the Lunar New Year. Doubao's AI model provides the voice and language capabilities for the Unitree robots included in the promotion.

Audi: An Audi E5 Sportback is among the prizes offered by ByteDance's Doubao in its Lunar New Year "red envelope" giveaway. This car, along with a Mercedes-Benz CLA, will feature in-car assistants powered by Doubao's AI model.

Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz is mentioned in relation to ByteDance's Doubao AI application promotion. As part of the Spring Festival Gala giveaway, usage rights for a Mercedes-Benz CLA, equipped with an in-car assistant powered by Doubao, are being offered as prizes. This highlights the integration of AI technology into vehicles.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2025-12 (early December 2025)：: Doubao is reported to have 155 million weekly active users, according to QuestMobile.

2026-01-26：: Baidu launches a 500 million yuan cash giveaway.

2026-02-01：: Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s AI app Yuanbao launches a 1 billion yuan prize pool.

2026-02-06：: Alibaba’s AI chat app Qwen begins the first phase of its 3 billion yuan “Spring Festival Treat Plan.”

2026-02-07：: Qwen tops Apple's App Store free-download chart in China, a day after its giveaways began. Yuanbao and Doubao follow.

2026-02-10 (Tuesday)：: ByteDance unveils a marketing campaign for Doubao featuring cash giveaways and over 100,000 prizes to be distributed during the Spring Festival Gala. As of this date, Qwen remains No. 1 on Apple's App Store free-download chart, Doubao is second, and Yuanbao is sixth.

AI generated, for reference only