ByteDance develops new AI model with Huawei chips amid US sanctions

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is advancing the development of a new artificial intelligence (AI) model using Huawei chips, as sanctions imposed by the United States restrict access to advanced semiconductors.

According to sources linked to the project, the Chinese company has been looking for local suppliers to boost its AI operations, amid a scenario of growing technological tension between the US and China.

According to information obtained by the agency Reutersthree people familiar with the project confirmed that ByteDance is using Huawei’s Ascend 910B chips for training a new large-scale language model.

This move comes in response to US sanctions that, since 2022, have limited Chinese companies’ access to advanced chips from American companies, such as Nvidia.

Bet on domestic suppliers

According to one of the sources, ByteDance has accelerated its efforts to develop its own chips and is increasingly investing in Chinese suppliers, such as Huawei.

“ByteDance has been accelerating the development of its own chips and betting on domestic suppliers, such as Huawei, since US sanctions began limiting access to advanced chips, such as those from Nvidia, in 2022,” said the source.

The initiative is part of a broader reconfiguration of China’s technology industry, which has placed AI at the center of its strategies for sectors as diverse as e-commerce and entertainment.

The use of Huawei’s Ascend 910B chips is seen as an emerging solution to maintain technological advances, although the development of new AI models requires great processing power and huge amounts of data.

Using Ascend 910B chips

The Ascend 910B chip, manufactured by Huawei, had until now been used mainly in inference tasks, in which already trained AI models are used to make predictions and analyses.

However, ByteDance now plans to use these chips to train a new AI model, a process that requires more processing power, traditionally provided by graphics processing units (GPU) like those from Nvidia.

Despite investing in Huawei chips, ByteDance faces challenges with the shortage of these components. According to sources, the company has ordered more than 100,000 units of the Ascend 910B chip in 2023, but as of July only 30,000 have been delivered.

This number, according to the sources, is insufficient to meet the company’s AI development needs, especially in an environment of increasing demand for computing power.

Comparison with the Doubao model

The new AI model ByteDance is developing will be less powerful and complex than the company’s current language model, known as Doubao.

Launched in August 2023, Doubao quickly became one of the most popular chatbots in China, with over 10 million monthly active users.

It is at the center of ByteDance’s AI strategy and already has video-focused versions, created to compete with products from other industry giants, such as OpenAI.

However, despite expectations surrounding this new project, TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes denied that ByteDance is developing a new AI model. “The whole premise is wrong. No new models are being developed,” Hughes said in response to the agency. Reuters.

Impact of sanctions and the search for alternatives

ByteDance, like other Chinese technology companies, has been heavily impacted by US trade sanctions, which aim to limit China’s access to advanced chips and other cutting-edge technologies.

The restrictions forced Chinese companies to look for alternative solutions in the domestic market and to invest in the development of their own technologies.

Since the sanctions began, ByteDance has become one of the main buyers of AI chips from Huawei and also adapted versions of Nvidia chips available for the Chinese market. Nvidia, for example, developed the H20 model, intended to circumvent restrictions imposed by the USA, but with limited capacity compared to models available globally.

The Future of AI at ByteDance

Although ByteDance has faced difficulties with chip shortages and limitations imposed by sanctions, the company continues with ambitious plans to expand its AI operations.

The development of a new language model, even if less advanced than Doubao, reflects the company’s commitment to remaining competitive in the global technology market, despite restrictions.

There is still no specific date for the launch of this new AI model, and the project remains shrouded in uncertainty due to limitations in chip supply.

However, ByteDance’s effort to consolidate its position in the AI ​​sector and its collaboration with companies like Huawei indicate that the company seeks to quickly adapt to changes in the global technological landscape.

The question now is whether the measures taken by ByteDance, including partnering with domestic suppliers, will be enough to meet the challenges posed by sanctions and maintain the pace of innovation needed to compete with Western companies in a field that has become crucial to the future of technology. global technology.