China’s ByteDance is developing its own artificial intelligence chip and is in discussions with Samsung Electronics to manufacture it, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move reflects ByteDance’s effort to secure advanced processor supply as global competition for AI hardware intensifies.
The company aims to receive sample chips by the end of March and plans to produce at least 100,000 units this year, focused on AI inference tasks. Production could scale to as many as 350,000 units, one source said. Talks with Samsung reportedly include access to memory chip supplies, which remain tight amid the global AI infrastructure boom.
A ByteDance spokesperson described reports about an in-house chip project as inaccurate, while Samsung declined to comment. ByteDance has been expanding chip development efforts since 2022 and previously worked with Broadcom on advanced AI processors, with manufacturing slated for TSMC.
The push mirrors efforts by global tech firms such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft to develop proprietary AI chips and reduce reliance on Nvidia. For Chinese firms, U.S. export controls add urgency to domestic chip development. ByteDance is reportedly budgeting over 160 billion yuan this year for AI procurement and research, underscoring its ambition to expand across models, cloud services, and short-video platforms.
