ByteDance, one of China’s AI powerhouses, is exploring the acquisition of a substantial amount of Huawei’s AI chips to develop a new model using entirely in-house equipment.
ByteDance Looks to Huawei to Reduce Reliance on NVIDIA for AI Tasks
In light of the shifting landscape of US trade policies and the ensuing uncertainties, Chinese tech giants are increasingly turning towards domestic AI solutions. ByteDance, in particular, is ramping up its adoption of Huawei’s AI chips to mitigate dependence on NVIDIA. According to sources, ByteDance is aiming to stockpile Huawei’s Ascend 910B AI chips to train a new AI model, which will leverage these chips primarily for less-intensive inferencing tasks. This strategic move allows them to reserve their high-end NVIDIA chips for more critical functions.
Reports indicate that ByteDance has already procured over 100,000 Ascend 910B chips this year. However, due to Huawei’s supply constraints, they have only received about 30% of their total order. Despite this limitation, Chinese tech firms remain optimistic about Huawei’s AI solutions. ByteDance plans to utilize these chips for lower-power tasks, which will help them optimize their resource allocation and maintain competitiveness.
For those unfamiliar, ByteDance is a major player in the AI equipment market in China and one of NVIDIA’s largest customers, primarily acquiring H20 AI accelerators. With over 10 million active users relying on its AI services, ByteDance needs to continually enhance its computing capabilities. Acquiring Huawei’s Ascend 910B chips will bolster their hardware infrastructure, though Huawei’s supply issues must still be navigated.
Huawei is also planning to enhance its existing AI offerings with the upcoming Ascend 910C AI chip, which is expected to rival NVIDIA’s H100 AI accelerators. Once launched, this new chip could significantly shift the market dynamics, giving Huawei a considerable share of the AI hardware market in China and providing companies like ByteDance with more robust domestic alternatives.
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