Bilibili ramps up global expansion with new app and creator strategy

MUMBAI: Bilibili is taking its China story on the road. The Chinese video-sharing platform is stepping up its international ambitions with a revamped global app, an upcoming English-language website and a creator acquisition strategy aimed at markets from Los Angeles to Tokyo.

The expansion marks one of Bilibili’s biggest pushes outside China and puts the platform in more direct competition with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels and Twitch for both audiences and creators.

Founded in 2009, Bilibili began as a niche online community centred on anime, gaming and youth culture before growing into one of China’s largest video platforms. It now reports 376 million monthly active users, alongside a sizeable creator ecosystem.

But this time, Bilibili is not simply looking for more eyeballs. It wants the people creating the content too.

Materials reviewed by Semafor indicate that Bilibili is positioning itself around highly engaged Gen Z audiences, while also developing a marketplace that would connect creators directly with brands for sponsorship opportunities.

The strategy comes as creators on established platforms face increasing competition for attention and growing pressure to monetise their audiences.

Bilibili already has some international creator traction. MrBeast, for instance, is among global creators whose content has found an audience on the platform.

The company is also making it easier for overseas users to get through the front door. Its new international app no longer requires identity verification, unlike the main Chinese platform, where overseas users previously needed documents such as passports to register.

The Android version has already launched globally, while an iOS version is expected to follow. Bilibili is also developing an English-language website that could make its content and creator ecosystem more accessible to international audiences.

The company is backing the expansion with local recruitment, hiring community managers in Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Istanbul and Tokyo.

It is also investing in AI-powered content moderation, a particularly important piece of infrastructure as Bilibili enters markets with different cultural expectations and regulatory requirements.

Yet expanding the app is likely to be easier than expanding trust.

Bilibili could face scrutiny around content moderation, censorship, data protection and platform governance, issues that have complicated the international ambitions of several Chinese technology companies.

And then there is the small matter of competition.

TikTok has already established a huge global short-form video audience, while YouTube has decades of experience in creator monetisation, advertising and international distribution. Bilibili will therefore need more than an English-language interface to make a dent.

Its strongest card may be the youth and creator culture it has built at home. The bigger question is whether that community can travel and whether Bilibili can turn its niche appeal into a global habit rather than simply becoming another app in an already crowded feed.