ByteDance Acquires 100,000 Huawei AI Chips for New AI Model Training

ByteDance Reportedly Acquires 100,000 of Huawei's Ascend 910B AI Chips

ByteDance, one of the largest Chinese AI firms, is considering acquiring a vast arsenal of Huawei's AI chips to train a new model solely from in-house equipment. It seems like the adoption of Chinese in-house AI solutions will grow rapidly, as now only the government is pushing the narrative, but the regional tech giants have now also forced their ways out of NVIDIA due to the constant revisions in US trade policies and the uncertainties associated. The only way to get out of the situation is by switching to domestic AI solutions, such as those from Huawei, and according to Reuters, ByteDance now plans to stockpile Huawei Ascend 910B AI chips, with plans to train a new AI model with the inferencing power onboard. The report says that ByteDance has already purchased over 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year, but due to Huawei's confined supply situation, the firm has only received 30% of the total order. Despite this, Chinese firms are still heavily optimistic about Huawei and its AI solutions, and according to ByteDance, they plan to use the pool of Huawei's chips for low-power inferencing tasks, ultimately putting their high-end NVIDIA chips to functions of more priority. For those unaware, ByteDance is one of the largest purchasers of AI equipment in China and is also a top NVIDIA customer regarding hardware acquisition, mainly the H20 AI accelerators. The firm is said to have over 10 million active users for its AI services, which means that the company is now significantly dependent on upscaling existing computing power to sustain competition. By acquiring Huawei's Ascend 910B chips, the firm will have access to a more extensive hardware base, but yet again, Huawei is experiencing supply chain issues, so there are problems everywhere. We recently reported on Huawei's plans to upgrade existing AI offerings by introducing the advanced Ascend 910C AI chip, designed to cater to the competition of NVIDIA. The chip is said to offer power equivalent to NVIDIA's H100 AI accelerators, so with that debuting in the markets, we will see the firm gobbling up a gigantic share of NVIDIA in the domestic markets.

TikTok owner ByteDance to train its AI model using 100,000+ of Huawei's new Ascend AI chips

TikTok parent company ByteDance will be training its next-generation AI model using Huawei AI chips, according to three people familiar with the matter, reports Reuters. The outlet said that ByteDance is diversifying its domestic suppliers of chips used for AI and accelerated development of its own since the United States started restricting exports on advanced AI chips -- you know, the world's best are made by NVIDIA and export controls have stopped all high-end NVIDIA chips from entering China. So, ByteDance is side-stepping that, and keeping it all within China by tapping Huawei AI chips. ByteDance will be tapping Huawei's new Ascend 910B AI chips to train its new large language model (LLM) according to Reuters' sources, who of course, declined to be identified as the plan is confidential (except leaking it to one of the largest news sources on the planet seems to be OK, even for Chinese companies). The TikTok parent company is already using Huawei Ascend 910B AI chips primarily for less computationally intensive inference tasks, which involve pre-trained AI models that make predictions, according to three sources that spoke with Reuters. Another source said that ByteDance will be using a new AI model, but this source wasn't clear on whether it would be using Huawei chips. The training of AI models is far, far more demanding and requires insane amounts of data, which means companies are forced into using ultra-high-performance chips like the ones NVIDIA makes, except they're not allowed to touch the shores of China. This is why ByteDance is working closely with its Chinese counterpart, to get homegrown AI chips into its AI servers. ByteDance has ordered over 100,000 of Huawei's Ascend 910B chips this year, but as of July, the company has received just 30,000 of them -- "a pace too slow to meet company needs" a source told Reuters. The constrained supply and limited computing power versus NVIDIA's chips that it supplies to China, has stopped ByteDance from setting a timeline for its new AI model, sources told Reuters.

ByteDance plans new AI model trained with Huawei chips

ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, plans to develop an AI model using Huawei chips due to U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips. ByteDance has ordered over 100,000 Ascend 910B chips but received fewer than 30,000. The new model will be less powerful than its existing Doubao AI model.TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance plans to develop an AI model trained primarily with chips from compatriot Huawei Technologies, said three people familiar with the matter, as U.S. curbs turn the social media giant homeward in search of chips. ByteDance has diversified to domestic suppliers of chips used in artificial intelligence and accelerated development of its own since the U.S. in 2022 started restricting exports of advanced AI chips such as from market leader Nvidia. AI has become central to the technology industry with firms in sectors as varied as gaming and e-commerce differentiating offerings through the integration of custom AI models - programs that employ pattern recognition to make decisions. ByteDance's next step in the AI race is to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model, said the people, declining to be identified as the plan is confidential. A fourth person also said ByteDance is planning a new AI model but could not say whether it will use Huawei chips. ByteDance already uses the Ascend 910B primarily for less computationally intensive inference tasks, which involve pre-trained AI models making predictions, the three people and a separate source said. Training AI models is far more demanding and requires huge amounts of data, necessitating the use of ultra-high-performance chips such as Nvidia's premium graphics processing units. The new model's capability and complexity, measured by its computing parameters, will be less powerful than ByteDance's existing AI model Doubao, one of the people said. ByteDance did not reply to a request for comment. Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesman in Washington D.C., said, speaking on behalf of ByteDance, "The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed". Huawei did not reply to Reuters' requests for comment. TIGHT SUPPLY ByteDance has ordered more than 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year but has received fewer than 30,000 as of July, a pace too slow to meet company needs, one of the people said. The constrained supply and limited computing power versus Nvidia's China-available chips have prevented ByteDance from setting a timeline for the new model, two of the people said. ByteDance's current AI technology is used in its flagship large-language model launched in August 2023 and rebranded as chatbot Doubao, and in many other applications including a text-to-video tool Jimeng. It introduced two video-focused Doubao models this month to compete with OpenAI. Use of such applications has ballooned since early this year, with ByteDance's chatbot becoming one of China's most popular apps with more than 10 million monthly active users. The increased emphasis on AI has made ByteDance one of the largest buyers of Huawei's AI chips, the three people said. It is also the biggest buyer of Nvidia's H20 AI chip, which the U.S. chipmaker tailored for the China market in response to trade restrictions, said two of the people. The TikTok owner is also Microsoft's biggest client in Asia for Nvidia chips accessible via cloud computing, said two separate sources. Reuters previously reported that ByteDance allocated $2 billion for Nvidia chips last year. Nvidia declined to comment. Microsoft did not reply to a request for comment.

ByteDance will reportedly use Huawei chips to train a new AI model

US export restrictions are preventing ByteDance from using NVIDIA chips. As first reported by Reuters, ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, is planning to train and using chips from fellow Chinese company Huawei. Three anonymous sources approached Reuters with this information; a fourth source couldn't confirm that ByteDance was using Huawei chips but did say that a new AI model was in development. Previously, ByteDance's AI projects used NVIDIA's H20 AI chips, which were designed for the and avoided the trade restrictions the US government placed in 2022. Chinese customers were only allowed to purchase select models of AI chips, which was an attempt to slow down Chinese technological advancement. ByteDance has ordered 100,000 Ascend 910B chips from Huawei this year but only received 30,000 of them. Huawei's Ascend 910B chips are said to be superior to NVIDIA's A100 chips in GPU performance and computing power efficiency. Nevertheless, the chip shortage halted ByteDance's AI model development project. The news isn't confirmed by ByteDance yet, but it's not the only company to switch away from NVIDIA products. Many other Chinese companies are slowly transitioning to local chips. Even though ByteDance had previously used to get NVIDIA AI chips, the latest development shows how China is attempting to reduce its dependence on Western products.

Exclusive-ByteDance plans new AI model trained with Huawei chips, sources say

(Reuters) - TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance plans to develop an AI model trained primarily with chips from compatriot Huawei Technologies, said three people familiar with the matter, as U.S. curbs turn the social media giant homeward in search of chips. ByteDance has diversified to domestic suppliers of chips used in artificial intelligence and accelerated development of its own since the U.S. in 2022 started restricting exports of advanced AI chips such as from market leader Nvidia. AI has become central to the technology industry with firms in sectors as varied as gaming and e-commerce differentiating offerings through the integration of custom AI models - programs that employ pattern recognition to make decisions. ByteDance's next step in the AI race is to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model, said the people, declining to be identified as the plan is confidential. A fourth person also said ByteDance is planning a new AI model but could not say whether it will use Huawei chips. ByteDance already uses the Ascend 910B primarily for less computationally intensive inference tasks, which involve pre-trained AI models making predictions, the three people and a separate source said. Training AI models is far more demanding and requires huge amounts of data, necessitating the use of ultra-high-performance chips such as Nvidia's premium graphics processing units. The new model's capability and complexity, measured by its computing parameters, will be less powerful than ByteDance's existing AI model Doubao, one of the people said. ByteDance did not reply to a request for comment. Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesman in Washington D.C., said, speaking on behalf of ByteDance, "The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed". Huawei did not reply to Reuters' requests for comment. TIGHT SUPPLY ByteDance has ordered more than 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year but has received fewer than 30,000 as of July, a pace too slow to meet company needs, one of the people said. The constrained supply and limited computing power versus Nvidia's China-available chips have prevented ByteDance from setting a timeline for the new model, two of the people said. ByteDance's current AI technology is used in its flagship large-language model launched in August 2023 and rebranded as chatbot Doubao, and in many other applications including a text-to-video tool Jimeng. It introduced two video-focused Doubao models this month to compete with OpenAI. Use of such applications has ballooned since early this year, with ByteDance's chatbot becoming one of China's most popular apps with more than 10 million monthly active users. The increased emphasis on AI has made ByteDance one of the largest buyers of Huawei's AI chips, the three people said. It is also the biggest buyer of Nvidia's H20 AI chip, which the U.S. chipmaker tailored for the China market in response to trade restrictions, said two of the people. The TikTok owner is also Microsoft's biggest client in Asia for Nvidia chips accessible via cloud computing, said two separate sources. Reuters previously reported that ByteDance allocated $2 billion for Nvidia chips last year. Nvidia declined to comment. Microsoft did not reply to a request for comment. (Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Christopher Cushing)

Exclusive: ByteDance plans new AI model trained with Huawei chips, sources say

Sept 30 (Reuters) - TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance plans to develop an AI model trained primarily with chips from compatriot Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL), said three people familiar with the matter, as U.S. curbs turn the social media giant homeward in search of chips. ByteDance has diversified to domestic suppliers of chips used in artificial intelligence and accelerated development of its own since the U.S. in 2022 started restricting exports of advanced AI chips such as from market leader Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab. Advertisement · Scroll to continue AI has become central to the technology industry with firms in sectors as varied as gaming and e-commerce differentiating offerings through the integration of custom AI models - programs that employ pattern recognition to make decisions. ByteDance's next step in the AI race is to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model, said the people, declining to be identified as the plan is confidential. Advertisement · Scroll to continue A fourth person also said ByteDance is planning a new AI model but could not say whether it will use Huawei chips. ByteDance already uses the Ascend 910B primarily for less computationally intensive inference tasks, which involve pre-trained AI models making predictions, the three people and a separate source said. Training AI models is far more demanding and requires huge amounts of data, necessitating the use of ultra-high-performance chips such as Nvidia's premium graphics processing units. The new model's capability and complexity, measured by its computing parameters, will be less powerful than ByteDance's existing AI model Doubao, one of the people said. ByteDance did not reply to a request for comment. Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesman in Washington D.C., said, speaking on behalf of ByteDance, "The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed". Huawei did not reply to Reuters' requests for comment. TIGHT SUPPLY ByteDance has ordered more than 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year but has received fewer than 30,000 as of July, a pace too slow to meet company needs, one of the people said. The constrained supply and limited computing power versus Nvidia's China-available chips have prevented ByteDance from setting a timeline for the new model, two of the people said. ByteDance's current AI technology is used in its flagship large-language model launched in August 2023 and rebranded as chatbot Doubao, and in many other applications including a text-to-video tool Jimeng. It introduced two video-focused Doubao models this month to compete with OpenAI. Use of such applications has ballooned since early this year, with ByteDance's chatbot becoming one of China's most popular apps with more than 10 million monthly active users. The increased emphasis on AI has made ByteDance one of the largest buyers of Huawei's AI chips, the three people said. It is also the biggest buyer of Nvidia's H20 AI chip, which the U.S. chipmaker tailored for the China market in response to trade restrictions, said two of the people. The TikTok owner is also Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab biggest client in Asia for Nvidia chips accessible via cloud computing, said two separate sources. Reuters previously reported that ByteDance allocated $2 billion for Nvidia chips last year. Nvidia declined to comment. Microsoft did not reply to a request for comment. Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Christopher Cushing Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

TikTok's owner is reportedly developing an AI model with Huawei's chips

As the U.S. escalates export controls on China, TikTok's owner is reportedly planning to use a homegrown chipmaker for an artificial intelligence model it's developing. ByteDance is planning to build an AI model using chips from Huawei, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter. The company wants to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chips to train the model, the people said. ByteDance has reportedly ordered over 100,000 of Huawei's chips, but, as of July, has received less than 30,000 of them. One person told Reuters the model under development is expected to be less powerful than ByteDance's Doubao model, which was released last August. "The entire premise here is wrong," a spokesperson for ByteDance said in a statement shared with Quartz. "No new AI model is being developed." Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company's Ascend 910B chip is used for less intense AI model inferencing, people told Reuters, but training requires more compute power, and therefore, more advanced chips. And Huawei was reportedly having a hard time increasing production of the Ascend 910B -- China's best alternative to Nvidia's (NVDA) chips that cannot be sold to Chinese customers under U.S. trade restrictions. The chip fabrication machines Huawei uses to produce the advanced chips are designed for older generations of chips, The Information reported, and repurposing them was causing certain components to break down. Since the U.S. began implementing trade restrictions on advanced chips, including those designed by Nvidia, in 2022, ByteDance has sought chips from Chinese companies, and worked on developing its own. ByteDance has designed two chips with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) that it plans to mass produce by 2026, The Information reported. The Chinese government, meanwhile, is encouraging tech companies to buy AI chips from local companies, and become less dependent on Nvidia, Bloomberg reported. Nvidia has developed three AI chips for the Chinese market in compliance with export controls, including the H20, which ByteDance has ordered hundreds of thousands of.

ByteDance and Huawei Join Forces for Cutting-Edge AI

According to Reuters, this is due to the US restrictions on advanced AI chip exports that have made ByteDance choose domestic suppliers. Sources close to ByteDance confirmed that the company is going to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train its next large-language AI model. ByteDance is changing its strategy due to the supply chain challenges faced by it and the evolving market demands. The company has already been using the Ascend 910B for less computationally intensive workloads. However, now it is looking to boost its AI model training capabilities with the chip.

TikTok owner ByteDance may use a domestic source to develop a new AI model

ByteDance has diversified to domestic suppliers of chips used in artificial intelligence and accelerated development of its own since the U.S. in 2022 started restricting exports of advanced AI chips such as from market leader Nvidia. AI has become central to the technology industry with firms in sectors as varied as gaming and e-commerce differentiating offerings through the integration of custom AI models -- programs that employ pattern recognition to make decisions. ByteDance's next step in the AI race is to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model, said the people, declining to be identified as the plan is confidential.

TikTok Parent ByteDance To Reportedly Use Huawei Chips To Train AI Model

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, reportedly plans to develop a new AI model using chips from Huawei Technologies. What Happened: The decision comes as U.S. restrictions on advanced AI chip exports, such as those from Nvidia, push ByteDance to seek domestic suppliers. The company has accelerated its chip development efforts since the 2022 export curbs, Reuters reported on Monday. ByteDance aims to use Huawei's Ascend 910B chip to train a large-language AI model, sources told Reuters. Another source confirmed ByteDance's plans for a new AI model but could not verify the use of Huawei chips. Currently, ByteDance employs the Ascend 910B for less intensive AI tasks, sources said. Training AI models requires substantial computational power and data, typically needing high-performance chips like Nvidia's GPUs. The new AI model will reportedly be less powerful than ByteDance's existing Doubao model. Michael Hughes, a TikTok spokesperson, stated, "The entire premise here is wrong. No new model is being developed." Huawei has yet to respond to Benzinga's queries. See Also: Elon Musk's X Suspends 5.3M Accounts, Flags 10.6M Posts In First Transparency Report Amid User And Advertiser Decline Why It Matters: ByteDance's move to use Huawei chips for AI model training comes amid escalating U.S.-China tech tensions. In June, ByteDance reportedly collaborated with U.S. chip designer Broadcom to develop an advanced AI processor, compliant with U.S. export restrictions. This collaboration aimed to secure a stable supply of high-end chips. Additionally, ByteDance, along with Alibaba Group Holding and AI specialist SenseTime, dominated China's generative AI infrastructure market in the second half of 2023, holding over 50% of the market, according to IDC. The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022 spurred rapid GenAI adoption in China. ByteDance's efforts to develop AI capabilities are also influenced by ongoing U.S. national security concerns. In late April, President Joe Biden signed a bill that could force a sale of TikTok by ByteDance or lead to a complete ban. ByteDance argued that the U.S. could have considered alternatives to banning the app, as detailed in a court filing in June. Read Next: Elon Musk Reacts After Cathie Wood Labels Gavin Newsom's Threat To Sue Tesla CEO Over Memes 'Unconstitutional': '...But That Didn't Stop Them' Photo by XanderSt on Shutterstock This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs