ByteDance in talks with Samsung on AI chip plan

China’s ByteDance is developing its own artificial intelligence chip and is in discussions with Samsung Electronics about manufacturing it, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The move reflects the TikTok parent company’s efforts to secure access to advanced processors amid rising global demand, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The sources said ByteDance hopes to receive sample chips by the end of March and plans to produce at least 100,000 units this year. The chip is designed primarily for AI inference tasks. One source added that the company aims to gradually scale production to as many as 350,000 units.

Talks with Samsung reportedly include securing access to memory chip supplies, which are currently in tight supply due to the global expansion of AI infrastructure. This factor makes the potential partnership especially significant.

However, a ByteDance spokesperson stated that information regarding the company’s in-house chip project is inaccurate, without providing further details. Samsung declined to comment.

If realized, the project would mark a significant step for ByteDance, which has been building internal chip capabilities since at least 2022, when it began actively recruiting semiconductor talent. In June 2024, Reuters reported that ByteDance was collaborating with U.S. chip designer Broadcom on an advanced AI processor, with manufacturing expected to be outsourced to Taiwan’s TSMC.

Major global technology companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have also developed proprietary AI chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia, the leading supplier of advanced AI processors.

For Chinese technology firms, U.S. export restrictions on advanced chip sales have further accelerated efforts to develop domestic alternatives. While ByteDance has not yet launched its own chip, competitors Alibaba and Baidu have made progress. Alibaba recently introduced its Zhenwu chip for large-scale AI workloads, while Baidu markets chips to external customers and is preparing to list its chip unit, Kunlunxin.

ByteDance’s chip initiative, reportedly codenamed SeedChip, forms part of a broader strategy to expand its AI capabilities, including chips and large language models. The company established its AI-focused unit Seed in 2023 to develop models and promote their applications across its businesses, which span short video, e-commerce, and enterprise cloud services.

According to one source, ByteDance plans to spend more than 160 billion yuan ($22 billion) this year on AI-related procurement. Over half of that amount is expected to go toward purchasing Nvidia chips, including H200 models, as well as advancing its in-house chip development.

At a January company-wide meeting, ByteDance executive Zhao Qi reportedly told employees that the company’s AI investments would support all divisions. Zhao, who oversees the Doubao chatbot and its international version Dola, acknowledged that ByteDance’s AI models trail global leaders such as OpenAI but reaffirmed the company’s commitment to strengthening its AI capabilities this year.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev