TikTok parent ByteDance shifts AI development to Huawei: report

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is accelerating its AI model development by turning to domestic suppliers like Huawei Technologies, according to a recent report by Reuters. 

According to insiders, the Chinese tech giant is utilising Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train new AI models, diversifying away from US-based chipmakers like Nvidia, which has been impacted by trade restrictions since 2022.

AI technology has become a cornerstone for companies across sectors like gaming, e-commerce, and social media, enabling businesses to enhance their offerings with custom AI models that leverage pattern recognition for better decision-making. 

ByteDance, with its flagship large-language model Doubao, is now focusing on developing another AI model with Huawei's chips, although sources indicate this new model will be less computationally powerful than Doubao.

While ByteDance currently uses the Ascend 910B chip for inference tasks—where AI models are used to make predictions—the development of new AI models requires far more computational power. This is where the challenge arises, as Huawei's chips lack the same performance levels as Nvidia's top-tier offerings. 

Despite ordering over 100,000 Ascend chips this year, ByteDance has only received fewer than 30,000 units, constraining their AI development timeline, states the Reuters report.

ByteDance remains one of the largest buyers of Huawei's AI chips and also the biggest purchaser of Nvidia's H20 AI chip, designed specifically for China due to trade restrictions. Furthermore, ByteDance is a key client for Nvidia's cloud-computing services in Asia, through partnerships with Microsoft.

As AI demand surges, with over 10 million monthly active users on ByteDance's chatbot Doubao, the company is pushing forward in AI despite supply chain challenges.