China’s ByteDance is working with Broadcom to develop an advanced AI chip
ByteDance and Broadcom have been business partners since at least 2022. Photo: Bloomberg
China’s ByteDance is working with U.S. chip designer Broadcom to develop an advanced AI processor, two sources familiar with the matter said, a move that would help TikTok’s owner secure an adequate supply of high-end chips amid tensions between the US and China.
The 5-nanometer chip – a custom product known as an application-specific integrated chip (ASIC) – would comply with US export restrictions and the manufacturing work would be outsourced to Taiwan’s TSMC, the sources added.
There have been no publicly announced chip development collaborations between Chinese and US companies using 5nm or more advanced technology since Washington introduced export controls on advanced semiconductors in 2022. US-China deals in the sector generally involve much less advanced technology.
ByteDance’s partnership with Broadcom, an existing business partner, would help reduce purchasing costs and ensure a stable supply of high-quality chips, said the sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of semiconductor issues in China.
However, TSMC is not expected to start production of the new chip this year, they said. One said that while design work is in full swing, the ‘tapeout’ – which marks the end of the design phase and the start of production – has not yet begun.
ByteDance and Broadcom did not respond to repeated requests for comment. TSMC declined to comment.
Like many global tech companies, ByteDance has made a big push into generative artificial intelligence, but the company and its Chinese peers face a much more limited supply of AI chips than their foreign counterparts.
Nvidia’s most advanced chipsets are out of reach due to US export controls aimed at hampering breakthroughs in AI and supercomputing by the Chinese military. Competition for the US
chips that have been specially developed for the Chinese market, but also those of competitor Huawei, one of the few Chinese makers of AI accelerators, are fierce.
ByteDance and Broadcom have been business partners since at least 2022. The Chinese company has bought the US
The company’s Tomahawk 5nm high-performance switch chip and Bailly switch for AI computing clusters, Broadcom has said in public statements.
Securing AI chips is crucial for ByteDance to make its algorithms more powerful. In addition to TikTok and the Chinese version of short video app Douyin, ByteDance operates a range of popular apps, including a ChatGPT-like chatbot service called Doubao, which has 26 million users.
To support its AI push, ByteDance has stockpiled Nvidia chips, according to a separate person briefed on the matter.
This includes A100 and H100 chips that were available before the first round of US sanctions took effect, as well as A800 and H800 chips that Nvidia made for the Chinese market but were later also restricted, the person said, adding adding that ByteDance allocated $2 billion to purchase Nvidia chips last year.
ByteDance also bought Huawei’s Ascend 910B chips last year, two separate sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Bytedance currently has hundreds of semiconductor-related job openings posted, including 15 for ASIC chip designers, according to checks on its website.
It has also poached executives from other Chinese AI chip makers, according to one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: June 24, 2024 | 9:21 am IST