TikTok owner ByteDance plans to spend $12 billion on AI chips in 2025

ByteDance is placing a big bet on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure as the TikTok parent plans to spend more than $12 billion on AI in 2025, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources. 

This move comes as the Chinese company faces pressure from Washington to sell its popular video-sharing app in the United States. 

"The anonymously sourced information about our plan is incorrect," a ByteDance spokesperson said in response to the FT report.

ByteDance plans to spend 40 billion yuan ($5.50 billion) to acquire AI chips in China in 2025, the report said, adding that the company will invest about $6.8 billion overseas to ramp up its foundation model training capabilities using advanced Nvidia chips.

 

Nvidia declined to comment on the report. 

About 60 per cent of ByteDance's domestic semiconductor orders would go to Chinese suppliers such as Huawei and Cambricon, while the rest would be spent on Nvidia chips that have been watered down to align with US export controls, according to the report. 

Beijing has given its tech companies informal guidance to buy at least 30 per cent of their chips from the country's own suppliers, the report said. 

TikTok, Huawei and Cambricon did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment. US President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday to delay a ban on TikTok, which was originally scheduled to take effect from Jan. 19.