Sept 30 (Reuters) - ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, is set to develop a new AI model utilizing chips from Huawei Technologies as U.S. export restrictions push the social media giant to rely more on domestic suppliers. This strategic shift comes after the U.S. began limiting access to advanced AI chips, particularly from Nvidia, in 2022.
ByteDance aims to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train its upcoming large-language AI model, according to sources familiar with the matter. This follows the company's previous use of the Ascend 910B for less demanding AI tasks. However, the training of AI models requires significant computational power, which has been hampered by a shortage of high-performance chips.
ByteDance has reportedly ordered over 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year but has received fewer than 30,000, creating a bottleneck in its AI development timeline. Despite these challenges, ByteDance's existing AI technology has gained traction, with its chatbot Doubao becoming one of China's most popular applications, boasting over 10 million monthly active users.
The company has been a major buyer of Huawei's AI chips and also remains a significant customer for Nvidia's H20 AI chip, tailored for the Chinese market. As the demand for AI technology surges, ByteDance's strategic pivot to local suppliers underscores the broader implications of U.S.-China trade tensions on the tech industry.
Source: Reuters, September 30, 2024.