ByteDance and Broadcom Team Up to Develop Custom AI Chips

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is preparing for future technological advancements by partnering with Broadcom to develop a high-power AI accelerator. This collaboration comes as the US considers a complete ban on TikTok, and ByteDance faces increasing export restrictions on advanced technologies. The new AI chips aim to enhance ByteDance's products, including TikTok and Douyin, while complying with US regulations.

ByteDance, like many tech firms, is keen on advancing generative AI technologies. However, geopolitical tensions pose significant challenges. The US has restricted the export of sensitive technologies to China, concerned about their potential military applications. This has largely isolated China from cutting-edge chips produced by companies like TSMC in Taiwan.

Despite these challenges, ByteDance and Broadcom are working on an application-specific integrated chip (ASIC) using a 5nm manufacturing process. While China has made strides in domestic chip fabrication, these AI chips will be produced by TSMC but designed to avoid breaching export restrictions.

These custom AI chips will support features in TikTok, Douyin, and other popular ByteDance apps, such as the chatbot Doubao, which boasts over 26 million users.

This partnership with Broadcom is expected to lower costs and secure ByteDance's access to necessary chips, even if geopolitical tensions continue to rise. Currently, ByteDance relies on Nvidia AI accelerators, including high-end A100 and H100 models acquired before sanctions, as well as some A800 and H800 models designed for China.

In 2023 alone, ByteDance invested $2 billion in Nvidia chips and also purchased Huawei's Ascend 910B accelerators.

The development of these custom AI chips is still in the early stages, with production by TSMC not expected to begin until next year. While the design work is in progress, a specific timeline for the completion of the design phase and the start of manufacturing has not been set.