Facebook and Snap both reportedly inquired about acquiring TikTok rival Dubsmash

• As TikTok's future in the US remains uncertain, short-form video-making apps and formats have emerged as competitors eager to attract some of TikTok's 100 million monthly US users.
• One such competitor is Dubsmash, a European-born app for creating lip-syncing videos. The app has been around since 2013, but hasn't reached the same levels of success as some of its rivals.
• The Information reported Wednesday that both Facebook and Snap had "recently" approached Dubsmash about a potential acquisition. The talks went as far as to discuss a pricetag for the app "in the hundreds of millions of dollars," according to the report.

Facebook and Snap both recently approached a TikTok-like platform expressing interest to acquire it for "hundreds of millions of dollars," according to The Information.

The app in question is called Dubsmash, a social platform for creating lip-syncing videos that has been around since 2013. Facebook and Snap's interest in a rival video-sharing app comes as TikTok faces off against the Trump administration's threat to ban the app next month.

Dubsmash and other video-sharing platforms have recently seen boosts in downloads and user numbers as TikTok's 100 million monthly users in the US prepare for a future without the viral app. TikTok is currently facing an executive order from Donald Trump that bans "any transactions" as of mid-September with the app and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Although it's unlikely a nationwide ban will be implemented, the threat to TikTok has been enough to send users into a panic about where to make videos and find their favorite creators.

The Information reports that although Dubsmash's acquisition talks with Snap and Facebook occurred in "recent weeks," the discussions are no longer active.

A Snap spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement, "We admire the team but aren't in active talks to acquire." Facebook cited company policy of not commenting on "rumor or speculation," but confirmed they're not in "active discussions" with Dubsmash. Dubsmash did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Meanwhile, Facebook and Snap have been working on their own features drawing from TikTok's popular format. Earlier this month, Facebook launched Instagram Reels in the US, while Snap started to roll out a music-overlay feature for videos.

Dubsmash was an early adopter of the audio-based, video-splicing format later made popular by TikTok. As reported by the New York Times, Dubsmash is where some of the internet's most viral dances have originated, before spreading to TikTok and getting picked up by the platform's most popular creators.

However, Dubsmash has not seen the same level of success as TikTok, nor rivals like Triller and Likee. Sensor Tower indicates Dubsmash has been downloaded around 2 million times in the last six months, and had only one-third of TikTok's lifetime installs in January.

Dubsmash was originally founded in Germany, but the app's creators restarted the company from the ground level in 2017, TechCrunch reported. Dubsmash established itself in Brooklyn with a team of around a dozen employees, and has raised $20 million from investors — although it's receieved no funding since last year, according to PitchBook.