TikTok Parent ByteDance To Reportedly Use Huawei Chips To Train AI Model

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, reportedly plans to develop a new AI model using chips from Huawei Technologies.

What Happened: The decision comes as U.S. restrictions on advanced AI chip exports, such as those from Nvidia, push ByteDance to seek domestic suppliers. The company has accelerated its chip development efforts since the 2022 export curbs, Reuters reported on Monday.

ByteDance aims to use Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model, sources told Reuters.

Another source confirmed ByteDance’s plans for a new AI model but could not verify the use of Huawei chips. Currently, ByteDance employs the Ascend 910B for less intensive AI tasks, sources said.

Training AI models requires substantial computational power and data, typically needing high-performance chips like Nvidia’s GPUs. The new AI model will reportedly be less powerful than ByteDance’s existing Doubao model.

Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesperson, stated, “The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed.”

Huawei has yet to respond to Benzinga’s queries.

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Why It Matters: ByteDance’s move to use Huawei chips for AI model training comes amid escalating U.S.-China tech tensions. In June, ByteDance reportedly collaborated with U.S. chip designer Broadcom to develop an advanced AI processor, compliant with U.S. export restrictions. This collaboration aimed to secure a stable supply of high-end chips.

Additionally, ByteDance, along with Alibaba Group Holding and AI specialist SenseTime, dominated China’s generative AI infrastructure market in the second half of 2023, holding over 50% of the market, according to IDC. The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022 spurred rapid GenAI adoption in China.

ByteDance’s efforts to develop AI capabilities are also influenced by ongoing U.S. national security concerns. In late April, President Joe Biden signed a bill that could force a sale of TikTok by ByteDance or lead to a complete ban. ByteDance argued that the U.S. could have considered alternatives to banning the app, as detailed in a court filing in June.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari