ByteDance’s Strategic Shift Towards Domestic AI Development
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is making a strategic shift towards domestic AI development, primarily relying on chips from HUAWEI Technologies. This move comes in response to the U.S. restrictions on advanced AI chips, which have forced the company to explore alternative sources.
The company plans to train its new AI model primarily with HUAWEI’s Ascend 910B chips, however, the new model’s capabilities will be less powerful than ByteDance’s existing AI model, Doubao. Additionally, the constrained supply of HUAWEI’s Ascend 910B chips has limited ByteDance’s progress.
To mitigate the challenges posed by chip shortages, ByteDance has also been acquiring NVIDIA’s H20 chips and utilising Microsoft’s cloud services for AI development.
ByteDance’s reliance on HUAWEI could strengthen China’s domestic AI ecosystem, but it also presents potential limitations in terms of chip supply and computing power. The shift towards domestic AI development could impact ByteDance’s competitiveness in the global AI landscape.
As ByteDance continues to navigate the challenges posed by U.S. sanctions, its strategic focus on domestic AI development will likely shape the future of its AI initiatives and China’s overall AI landscape.
