ByteDance is developing its own AI chip and plans to outsource production to Samsung

ByteDance plans its own AI accelerator – Samsung will be the first manufacturer

Large players in the artificial intelligence market are increasingly announcing intentions to develop their own computing accelerators, and Chinese company Byte Dance is no exception. According to Reuters, relying on internal sources, Byte Dance is already working on creating its own chip.

Samsung – the first manufacturer

According to plans, Samsung Electronics will be the first contractor to produce the initial samples of Byte Dance chips at the end of March. This year the company intends to release a minimum of 100,000 such devices, and volumes could rise to 350,000 units per year in the future.

The choice of Samsung is based not only on its powerful contract manufacturing lines for logic chips but also on its own memory factory – a critically important component for AI accelerators. Byte Dance representatives said that such reports are incorrect; Samsung employees declined to confirm the rumors.

Development history

Byte Dance began working on chips in 2022, hiring specialists in ASIC design. In June 2024 Reuters noted that the company is collaborating with Broadcom and plans to use Taiwan’s TSMC manufacturing technology for final chip production.

In China, examples of independent development have long been visible: Alibaba and Baidu have their own accelerators used in their infrastructure.

Explanation of the SeedChip project

Byte Dance’s AI chip project carries the code name *SeedChip*. This year the company planned to invest $22 billion in equipment for developing its AI infrastructure. More than half of the funds will be directed toward purchasing Nvidia accelerators, including the latest H200 model available only in China. The remaining part of the budget is allocated to developing its own chip.

Byte Dance management believes that investments in AI will benefit all company divisions and strengthen its position in the digital technology market.