More than a decade ago, Jeff Yass and his firm, Susquehanna International Group, invested in 99Fang, a Chinese real estate start-up with a sophisticated search algorithm. 

While that company fizzled out, it helped spawn ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, now one of the world’s most highly valued start-ups, write Mara Hvistendahl and Lauren Hirsch for The New York Times.

It’s also at the center of a battle on Capitol Hill, where some lawmakers see the company as a threat to American security and are considering a bill that could break up the company. 

Court documents and records include emails, chat messages, and memos from inside Susquehanna and show that Yass’ firm was more deeply involved in TikTok’s genesis than previously known. 

Susquehanna has tens of billions of dollars at stake as lawmakers debate the risk level TikTok has on American security

The firm has turned over Yass’ emails as part of the case, but the emails are not included in the trove that was made public. As a result, Yass’ personal involvement in ByteDance’s formation is likely to be left unknown. 

While the two sides dispute the origins of ByteDance’s technology, documents make clear that the company emerged from 99Fang’s real estate efforts.

Read more about Jeff Yass’ potential involvement in the formation of TikTok at The New York Times.

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