[News] TikTok Parent ByteDance to Invest USD 12 Billion in AI Chips by 2025, With Expenditure in China Doubling

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According to a report from TechNews, citing Financial Times, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is making substantial investments in AI infrastructure, with plans to spend over USD 12 billion on AI chips by 2025.

At the same time, ByteDance is under pressure from the U.S. government to sell its overseas short-video platform, TikTok, as noted in the report.

Sources reveal that ByteDance is expected to purchase AI chips worth RMB 40 billion in China by 2025, doubling its expenditure compared to 2024. Additionally, it plans to invest approximately USD 6.8 billion overseas to enhance AI computational capabilities for model training using advanced NVIDIA chips, according to the report.

The report further indicates that approximately 60% of ByteDance’s chip orders within China will be fulfilled by Chinese suppliers such as Huawei and Cambricon, while the remaining orders will utilize NVIDIA chips compliant with U.S. export controls.

Meanwhile, ByteDance has been expanding its computational capabilities in locations such as Malaysia, as highlighted by the report. Citing sources, the report notes that although Chinese companies have been prohibited from purchasing NVIDIA chips outside the U.S. since 2023, ByteDance has managed to secure access through leasing agreements with third-party data center providers.

The report also highlights that with the new Trump administration in office, it is uncertain whether existing policies will change. However, if the regulations are strictly enforced, it will make it more challenging for ByteDance to purchase chips overseas.

Additionally, the report cites NVIDIA’s financial documents, revealing that revenue from China (including Hong Kong) during the first three quarters of 2024 reached USD 11.6 billion, accounting for approximately 13% of the company’s global revenue. Notably, ByteDance is NVIDIA’s largest customer in China but is restricted to purchasing less advanced, China-specific chips like the H20, as the report indicates.

According to TrendForce, in China, demand for AI servers equipped with the H20 GPU has significantly increased since 2Q24, driven by cloud customers building LLMs, search engines, or chatbots locally.

Read more

• [News] ByteDance Reportedly Plans USD 7 Billion NVIDIA AI Chip Purchase in 2025 despite U.S. Restrictions
• [News] ByteDance Reportedly Turns to TSMC on in-house AI Chips to Cut Purchase Cost on NVIDIA
• NVIDIA’s Data Center Business Fuels Explosive Growth in FY2Q25 Revenue; H200 Set to Dominate AI Server Market from 2H24, Says TrendForce

(Photo credit: ByteDance)