Report: ByteDance is working with Broadcom on the development of an AI chip
US export controls make it difficult for China to access advanced semiconductors. ByteDance could circumvent the sanctions by working with Broadcom.
(Image: Boumen Japet / shutterstock.com)
The Chinese TikTok group ByteDance is working with the US chip provider Broadcom on the development of an advanced AI processor. This was reported by the news agency Reuters on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter. According to the unnamed sources, the planned 5-nanometer chip would comply with US export restrictions and production would be outsourced to the Taiwanese chip company TSMC, writes Reuters.
The US government introduced export controls on advanced semiconductor technology in 2022. Washington has formally banned the export of four technologies required for semiconductor manufacturing. This was justified on the grounds of protecting goods that are "vital to national security", without China being explicitly named. The toughest sanctions against the Chinese semiconductor industry to date largely prevented US and US-affiliated companies from collaborating with Chinese manufacturers in the development of chips with 5 nm or higher technology. Chinese technology companies have struggled with a far more limited supply of AI chips than their US competitors due to US export restrictions. Chipmaker Nvidia's most advanced chipsets are unreachable for China's companies due to U.S. export controls "aimed at preventing breakthroughs in AI and supercomputing by China's military," according to Reuters.
ByteDance needs AI chips
ByteDance's collaboration with Broadcom would help reduce procurement costs and ensure a stable supply of higher-quality chips, according to Reuters sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. Although the design work is well advanced, TSMC is not expected to start manufacturing the new chip this year. According to Reuters, none of the three companies involved have so far been willing to comment.
ByteDance and Broadcom have been business partners since at least 2022. In the past, the Chinese company has purchased Broadcom's Tomahawk 5 nm high-performance switch chip and its Bailly switch for AI computer clusters, the US manufacturer said in public statements. Access to AI chips is crucial for ByteDance to make the algorithms of its applications more powerful. In addition to TikTok and the Chinese version of the short video app called Douyin, ByteDance operates a number of other apps, including a ChatGPT-like chatbot service called Doubao, which has 26 million users, according to Reuters.
Chips worth billions "hoarded"
Referring to another source, Reuters further reports that ByteDance "hoarded Nvidia chips" before they were sanctioned. This includes A100 and H100 chips that were available before the first round of US export controls, as well as A800 and H800 chips that Nvidia manufactured for the Chinese market, but which were later also restricted. According to Reuters, ByteDance spent two billion US dollars on the purchase of Nvidia chips last year alone. In addition, ByteDance is also said to have purchased Ascend 910B chips from Chinese manufacturer Huawei last year.
ByteDance is also currently facing major political pressure on another front in the USA. A new US law bans the short video app TikTok. Owner ByteDance is defending itself against the forced sale and ban and wants to have the law declared unconstitutional by the competent court. If this is not successful, the app will be closed rather than sold, it is said.
(akn)
