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ByteDance expands AI chip strategy with new supplier talks
ByteDance is reportedly in talks with Chinese chipmaker Iluvatar CoreX over AI chip purchases as demand for computing capacity continues to grow. The discussions involve inference processors used to run AI applications and come as Chinese technology companies increasingly rely on domestic semiconductor suppliers amid ongoing restrictions on advanced foreign chips.
ByteDance is looking for new AI chip suppliers in China and has had talks with GPU maker Iluvatar CoreX, as the tech firm seeks further computing power to support its rapidly growing AI operations.
It is also held talks regarding chips with Baidu-backed semiconductor maker Kunlunxin but neither has reached a deal as discussions over details of the acquisition are ongoing.
Intense search for computing power continues
The reported moves are seen as evidence that the race is hotting up for China's largest technology firms to gain sufficient computing power, on which the products of all of the nation's cloud services and large language models depend on to run.
It also marks ByteDance, whose Doubao is one of the fast expanding AI assistants, to increase investment spending on data centers and computing facilities as the usage of AI services continues to rocket across consumers and the enterprise market.
The supply of advanced processors have become critical issue for Chinese firms following the export control introduced by the United States that restrict the sale of specific high-end AI chips. However, this limitation increased interest in and search for Chinese makers able to substitute for running or training the AI chips.
Domestic suppliers catch up
Among the Chinese chip manufacturers expected to capitalize on the growing AI chip demands are alsoHuawei, Cambricon, Biren Technology, Enflame along with Iluvatar Corex, which has been doing similar talks as ByteDance.
Analysts foresee spending on AI infrastructure remaining at a peak, as a report by IDC predicts continued global spending on AI infrastructure due to rising expenses from companies on their data centers and computer capabilities which will be needed to operate AI jobs.
The Chinese market dynamics are to be closely observed by firms based overseas such as those in Australia and the United States whose operations are linked with cloud computing and semiconductors. Neither company or its spokespeople offered comment on the speculation.
Source: Reuters
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