Tiktok owner ByteDance in talks with Broadcom a few possible AI chip made by TSMC

The U.S. chip designer and Beijing-based ByteDance have discussed a custom-designed 5-nanometer chip, in line with an individual acquainted with the talks. No agreement has been reached between the 2 corporations and Broadcom is already supplying an older-generation 7nm AI processor to be used in ByteDance’s data centers, the person said, asking to stay anonymous because the knowledge is confidential.

The proposed chip would comply with US trade restrictions on China, Reuters said in an earlier report, citing anonymous sources. The two corporations’ existing business relations mainly revolve around servers and Network equipmentand Broadcom has ByteDance as a customer in its Press releases.

In March, Broadcom told investors it had won a brand new customer for its consumer AI accelerator business and would begin shipping products to that company in the subsequent few months, but the corporate didn’t name a customer.

If the 2 reach an agreement, the customized chip can be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Reuters reported. The connection between TikTok’s owner and two global semiconductor corporations is unusual, as Washington is actively attempting to curb Chinese chipmaking ambitions through a series of sweeping production and export restrictions.

The agreement is meant to make sure a gentle supply of chips for ByteDance, which operates the world’s largest short video platform in addition to the Chinese services Douyin and Toutiao. ByteDance’s Doubao became China’s hottest AI chatbot this yr.

ByteDance’s global rivals, from Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to Alphabet Inc.’s Google, are already developing or using their very own custom chips for AI tasks. The TikTok parent will try to maintain pace with those U.S. rivals. AI made a priority this yr.

Representatives for ByteDance, Broadcom and TSMC didn’t reply to requests for comment.