TikTok dad or mum firm ByteDance has huge plans to purchase Nvidia chips in 2025 — regardless of U.S. restrictions.
ByteDance plans to spend $7 billion on the chips in 2025, in accordance with reporting from The Data, citing inside sources. If ByteDance follows by means of, it is going to turn into one of many world’s high homeowners of Nvidia chips, regardless of U.S. efforts to limit Chinese language firms from shopping for U.S. AI chips like these.
In 2022, the U.S. introduced export restrictions on sure sorts of AI chips to nations, together with China, the place ByteDance is headquartered. These restrictions have gotten tighter a number of occasions since.
ByteDance is technically adhering to those restrictions by utilizing a loophole: The corporate isn’t bringing the chips on to China and is as a substitute storing them in knowledge facilities positioned in different areas like Southeast Asia, in accordance with The Data’s reporting. This doesn’t technically violate U.S. restrictions.
ByteDance runs Doubao, China’s “hottest” AI chatbot with 51 million energetic customers, in accordance with the South China Morning Put up.
TechCrunch reached out to ByteDance for extra info.