According to the recent reports from The Financial Times, TikTok owner ByteDance has made initial plans for a massive increase in capital expenditure, totaling 160 billion yuan ($22.74 billion) in 2026, to bolster its AI capabilities.
In line with the report, half of the spending will be allocated to acquiring advanced semiconductors to support the development of AI models and applications.
ByteDance has budgeted around 85 billion yuan for AI processors in 2026, despite the precariousness over its access to Nvidia chips due to U.S. export controls.
The report further added that the company is China's largest builder of AI infrastructure, though its spending lags behind that of the U.S. Big Tech groups, which have collectively invested more than $300 billion this year.
The FT further noted that ByteDance could increase its spending significantly if restrictions on Nvidia’s H200 processors are eased.
In the meantime, the company also continues to lease data centres to access advanced hardware necessary for training its AI models.
Nonetheless, the recent report suggests that ByteDance is working to shift training for its most advanced models to overseas data centers.
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