Tiktok’s parent company, ByteDance, may be planning to spend more than$ 12 billion on AI chips in 2025, the Financial Times  reported Wednesday.

The move had essentially double its funding from last year, even as its flagship app navigates rough political waters in the U. S.

Chinese tech firms face mounting stress from Beijing to raise their local sectors and reduce  their dependency on Nvidia AI accounts, especially as U. S. restrictions prevent the firms from exporting their  best cards to the society.

ByteDance is officially investing heavily in AI, with$ 5. 5 billion of its$ 12 billion budget allocated for domestic chip purchases from manufacturers such as Huawei and Cambricon, per to the report.

The remaining$ 6. 8 billion may be marked for international AI infrastructure, though this part faces some major barriers.

Despite U. S. restrictions against the Chinese AI sector, local production and development are becoming more prominent.

Bytedance’s AI robot Doubao files over 60 million monthly active users, roughly half of all the trips Foreign people create to AI bots.

In general, the number of monthly active users of Artificial programs in China doubled over the five weeks, according to statements made by Chen Yan, study director of QuestMobile, according to Yicai Global.

Bytedance Rejections

On Wednesday, ByteDance called the FT’s document as false. A business director reportedly  told Taiwanese press,” The anonymously sourced knowledge about our strategy is wrong. “

“ByteDance gives excellent value to the growth and investment in the field of artificial intelligence, but the appropriate funds and preparing stories are not right, ” the spokesperson apparently said.

This isn’t the first day ByteDance has had to fight off speculations about its AI plan.

The Information just claimed the business was dodging U. S. punishment by storing Nvidia bits in South Asian data locations instead of bringing them to China.

ByteDance killed that down quickly, telling TechCrunch that” ByteDance has never bought H100s for its data locations outside of the U. S. since the important U. S. trade control regulations took result. “

Furthermore, in September, it was reported that ByteDance was cooking up its own AI cards.

The firm set the record straight, saying its silicon work was also “in the first level” and mainly focused on making its advertising and recommendation systems run cheaper.

ByteDance made sure to note that all its chip projects play by the rules when it comes to trade regulations.

ByteDance did not immediately respond to  Decrypt ‘s  request for comment on its budget and planning, including how it plans to maintain its AI program under the strict sanctions that prevent Nvidia exports to Chinese firms.

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