ByteDance to Develop AI Model with Huawei Technologies’ Chips

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, plans to develop an AI model primarily using chips from domestic supplier Huawei Technologies. According to three sources familiar with the matter.

This move comes as ByteDance pivots towards local chip suppliers in response to U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips that began in 2022.

AI has become a core focus across various industries, including gaming and e-commerce, where companies are using custom AI models to enhance their products.

ByteDance’s strategy involves utilising Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model, the sources said, requesting anonymity due to the confidentiality of the project. A fourth source confirmed ByteDance’s intention to develop a new AI model but could not specify whether Huawei chips would be used.

Currently, ByteDance employs the Ascend 910B chip for less resource-intensive inference tasks, where pre-trained AI models are used to make predictions, according to the three sources and another separate informant.

Training AI models are significantly more demanding and require large datasets and high-performance chips like Nvidia’s premium graphics processing units.

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One of the sources indicated that the new model will have lower computing capabilities compared to ByteDance’s existing Doubao AI model.

ByteDance did not respond to a request for comment. However, Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesperson in Washington, D.C., denied the reports, stating, “The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed.”

Supply Constraints

ByteDance reportedly ordered over 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year but had only received fewer than 30,000 by July, hindering its ability to meet demand, according to one source. Due to this limited supply and the chips’ lower computational power compared to Nvidia’s China-available alternatives, ByteDance has not set a timeline for the new model, the sources noted.

The company’s current AI technology powers its flagship large-language model, Doubao, launched in August 2023, and is also used in several other applications, such as a text-to-video tool called Jimeng.

ByteDance recently introduced two video-centric versions of Doubao to compete with OpenAI, and its chatbot has quickly gained traction, attracting over 10 million monthly active users since early 2024.

As ByteDance ramps up its focus on AI, it has become one of Huawei’s largest buyers of AI chips, the sources said. It is also the top customer for Nvidia’s H20 AI chip, designed specifically for the Chinese market to comply with U.S. trade restrictions, and is Microsoft’s biggest client in Asia for Nvidia chips accessible through cloud services, according to separate sources.