"Among Rich Sparkle's goals is the creation of an AI version of Lame that will make multilingual social media content by mimicking his face, voice and mannerisms. His most popular content comes in the form of wordless videos, anyway, which the company acknowledged makes him able to "scale across languages and cultures without translation." The AI clone will provide a method for posting more content that spans across time zones."
"The acquisition comes at an important time for livestream e-commerce, particularly in China. According , live commerce generated more than $40 billion in sales in the country in 2024. The market is projected to grow by over 37 percent annually, putting it at $672 billion by 2033. Lame, born in Senegal and raised in Italy, first began making TikTok content in 2020 after losing his job during the pandemic."
Khaby Lame sold a stake in Step Distinctive Limited to Hong Kong–based Rich Sparkle Holdings in an all-stock deal valued at $975 million, with Lame retaining control as controlling shareholder. Rich Sparkle obtained 36 months of exclusive global rights to the brand and plans to monetize Lame's TikTok following, shop control, livestreaming, short-video commerce programming, and endorsements. The company plans to create an AI version of Lame that mimics his face, voice and mannerisms to produce multilingual social content; his largely wordless videos can scale across languages without translation. The transaction aligns with rapid growth in livestream e-commerce.
Read at Inc
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