An AI clone and a publicly traded company: The irresistible rise of TikToker Khaby Lame
Influencer Khaby Lame at the Web Summit in Lisbon, November 10, 2025. PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP For the past three years, he has been the world's most-followed TikToker. On the platform where, without uttering a word, he mocks unnecessarily complicated situations, Khaby Lame has more than 160 million followers. But the 25-year-old Senegalese-Italian influencer is now more than just a content creator. His company, Step Distinctive Limited, was just sold to Hong Kong-based holding group Rich Sparkle Limited for $975 million. The deal will transform his content production, with the stated goal of generating $4 billion in annual profits. At the center of the strategy is the development of a "digital twin" built using artificial intelligence, which would allow content to be produced "on a scale that goes beyond human constraints of scheduling and time zones," according to Rich Sparkle Holdings Limited, which announced the completion of the purchase on January 11. Lame reportedly authorized the use of his biometric data for this purpose. With clever editing and signature facial expressions, the influencer's videos resonate universally, without the need for translation. This is a major advantage for the holding company, which makes no secret of its aim to "turn Khaby Lame's global influence into a brand identity." You have 74.38% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
