ByteDance Develops AI Model with Huawei Chips

(Reuters) – TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance plans to develop an AI model primarily using chips from Huawei Technologies, as U.S. restrictions lead the social media giant to seek domestic suppliers.

ByteDance has diversified sourcing chips for artificial intelligence and accelerated its development since the U.S. imposed export limits on advanced chips like those from Nvidia in 2022.

AI has become essential across various tech sectors, helping companies differentiate offerings through custom AI models that utilize pattern recognition.

ByteDance’s next step involves using Huawei’s Ascend 910B chip for training a large-language AI model, according to sources familiar with the matter who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the plan.

While plans for the new AI model are underway, it is unclear if Huawei chips will be exclusively used. Currently, ByteDance utilizes the Ascend 910B primarily for inference tasks involving pre-trained AI models.

Training AI models is more complex and resource-intensive, requiring high-performance chips like Nvidia’s GPUs. The new model is expected to have less computing power than ByteDance’s existing AI model, Doubao.

ByteDance did not respond to requests for comments. A TikTok representative refuted claims about developing a new model, saying, “The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed.”

Huawei has also not responded to inquiries.

Supply Challenges

ByteDance ordered over 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year but received fewer than 30,000 by July, creating supply issues for the company.

The limited availability and power of chips compared to Nvidia’s options have delayed timelines for the new model. ByteDance’s AI technology is integrated into its Doubao model, launched in August 2023, and other applications like text-to-video tool Jimeng.

Usage of ByteDance’s chatbot has surged, becoming one of China’s most popular apps with over 10 million monthly active users.

In the AI market, ByteDance stands as one of the largest purchasers of Huawei’s AI chips and is also Nvidia’s top client in China after it tailored its H20 AI chip for the region in response to trade barriers.

Last year, ByteDance allocated $2 billion to acquire Nvidia chips. Nvidia and Microsoft did not provide comments on these matters.