ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is reportedly developing an artificial intelligence (AI) chip and is in discussions with Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) for its manufacturing.
The Chinese tech company plans to receive sample chips by the end of March, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. It also aims to manufacture at least 100,000 units of the AI inference chip this year.
ByteDance plans to scale production to as many as 350,000 units gradually and is negotiating with Samsung not only on manufacturing but also on securing memory chip supplies, which are in tight demand amid the global AI infrastructure expansion, according to the report.
The development represents a key milestone for ByteDance in its multi-year effort to build in-house chips for AI workloads, an initiative that began with hiring chip-related talent in 2022.
Benzinga reached out to ByteDance and Samsung for comments, but did not receive an immediate response.
ByteDance Targets AI Scale-Up
ByteDance’s push to develop its own AI chips started two years ago. In 2024, the company collaborated with Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) to develop an advanced AI processor amid U.S.-China tensions. The chip, a 5-nanometer custom product known as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), was reportedly being designed to be compliant with U.S. export restrictions.
The company continues to ramp up its investment in AI, as a December report suggested that ByteDance’s plans to invest $23 billion in AI in 2026 to compete with U.S. tech giants. Roughly half of the budget is set to go toward acquiring advanced semiconductors to power AI models and applications. Even as uncertainty lingers over Chinese firms’ access to Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) chips, ByteDance has earmarked CNY 85 billion ($12.07 billion) for AI processors next year.
Chinese Tech Accelerates AI Chip Push
The move by ByteDance to develop its AI chip comes amid a broader trend of Chinese tech companies seeking to reduce their reliance on foreign chip suppliers. In January, Alibaba Holdings (NYSE:BABA) unveiled its own AI chip, the Zhenwu 810E, as part of its efforts to reduce its dependence on Nvidia due to U.S. export controls.
In November, Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) outlined a five-year roadmap for its Kunlun chips, beginning with the M100 in 2026 and the M300 in 2027. It already uses its in-house processors alongside Nvidia hardware to run ERNIE AI models, sells the chips to third-party data center operators, and provides cloud computing capacity.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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