TikTok is pledging $1 billion to help top creators turn their popular pastimes into careers.
The company has selected the first recipients of the new TikTok Creator Fund, which include influencers who post videos on a range of topics from beauty to health and even cosplay.
"We want to ultimately make an investment in that creator community so that we can support creators of all sizes and backgrounds through earnings that really reward the passion, the dedication they put into that inspiring, uplifting, and entertainment content that they're delivering to our TikTok community every day," Bryan Thoensen, head of content partnerships, told Cheddar.
The fund was initially set at $200 million, but TikTok has since said it will increase that to $1 billion in the U.S. over the next three years, with plans to more than double that globally.
Creators, which Thoensen called "the heart and soul of TikTok," are eligible for funds if they are at least 18 years old, have 10,000 followers, and have accrued at least 10,000 views of their content in the last 30 days.
In July, TikTok star Addison Rae told Cheddar it "would be a really sad day," if the U.S. banned the platform, but ultimately it comes down to safety.
"I am forever grateful for it and will always give a props to TikTok for everything I have," Rae said. "But I think if it's a safety concern, I 100 percent stand behind that, and I think there's no reason to go against that if it's protecting people."
Thoensen said the sentiment across the creator community is a love for the platform.
"We are laser-focused right now on growing and building that creator community, making TikTok a place where creators can come and feel like it's their creative home," Thoensen said. "And that's really where we take our creator fund efforts."
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
