Is TikTok’s Parent Company Buying $12B Worth of AI Chips?

Tiktok’s guardian firm, ByteDance, could also be planning to spend greater than $12 billion on AI chips in 2025, the Monetary Occasions reported Wednesday.

The transfer would successfully double its funding from final 12 months, at the same time as its flagship app navigates uneven political waters within the U.S.

Chinese language tech firms face mounting strain from Beijing to spice up their native industries and cut back their dependency on Nvidia AI cards, particularly as U.S. sanctions forestall the businesses from exporting their greatest chips to the nation.

ByteDance is reportedly investing closely in AI, with $5.5 billion of its $12 billion price range allotted for home chip purchases from producers akin to Huawei and Cambricon, per to the report.

The remaining $6.8 billion could be marked for abroad AI infrastructure, although this chunk faces some critical roadblocks.

Regardless of U.S. sanctions in opposition to the Chinese language AI business, home manufacturing and improvement have gotten extra dominant.

Bytedance’s AI chatbot Doubao registers over 60 million monthly active users, practically half of all of the visits Chinese language customers make to AI chatbots.

Typically, the variety of month-to-month energetic customers of AI apps in China doubled over the 5 months, in keeping with statements made by Chen Yan, analysis director of QuestMobile, in keeping with Yicai Global.

Bytedance Denials

On Wednesday, ByteDance referred to as the FT’s report as false. An organization spokesperson reportedly told Chinese language media, “The anonymously sourced details about our plan is inaccurate.”

“ByteDance provides nice significance to the event and funding within the subject of synthetic intelligence, however the related price range and planning rumors aren’t appropriate,” the spokesperson reportedly stated.

This is not the primary time ByteDance has needed to combat off rumors about its AI technique.

The Info recently claimed the corporate was dodging U.S. sanctions by storing Nvidia chips in Southeast Asian information facilities as a substitute of bringing them to China.

ByteDance shot that down quick, telling TechCrunch that “ByteDance has not purchased H100s for its information facilities exterior of the U.S. for the reason that related U.S. export management guidelines took impact.”

Additionally, in September, it was reported that ByteDance was cooking up its own AI chips.

The corporate set the record straight, saying its semiconductor work was nonetheless “within the early stage” and principally targeted on making its advert and advice techniques run cheaper.

ByteDance made certain to notice that every one its chip initiatives play by the principles relating to commerce rules.

ByteDance didn’t instantly reply to Decrypt’s request for touch upon its price range and planning, together with the way it plans to keep up its AI program underneath the strict sanctions that forestall Nvidia exports to Chinese language companies.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair