TikTok guardian firm ByteDance has massive plans to purchase Nvidia chips in 2025 — regardless of U.S. restrictions.
ByteDance plans to spend $7 billion on the chips in 2025, in keeping with reporting from The Data, citing inside sources. If ByteDance follows by, it’ll change into one of many world’s prime homeowners of Nvidia chips, regardless of U.S. efforts to limit Chinese language corporations 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 multiple times since.
ByteDance is technically adhering to those restrictions through the use of a loophole: The corporate isn’t bringing the chips on to China and is as a substitute storing them in knowledge facilities situated in different areas like Southeast Asia, in keeping with The Data’s reporting. This doesn’t technically violate U.S. restrictions.
ByteDance runs Doubao, China’s “hottest” AI chatbot with 51 million lively customers, in keeping with the South China Morning Post.
TechCrunch reached out to ByteDance for extra data.