TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, reportedly plans to use Huawei chips to develop a new AI model as China intensifies efforts to reduce dependence on U.S. technology amid tightening export controls.

Reuters reports that ByteDance intends to utilize Huawei’s Ascend 910B chips for AI model training. The company has allegedly ordered over 100,000 of these chips but has received fewer than 30,000 as of July. 

The new AI model is expected to be less powerful than ByteDance’s Doubao model, released in August 2023.

However, ByteDance has disputed this information. “The entire premise here is wrong. No new AI model is being developed,” a company spokesperson told Reuters.

The Ascend 910B chip is primarily used for less intensive AI model inferencing. Sources indicate that training requires more computing power and, thus, more advanced chips. 

Huawei reportedly faces challenges in scaling up the Ascend 910B production, which is considered China’s best alternative to Nvidia chips now restricted under U.S. trade regulations.

In response to U.S. trade restrictions implemented in 2022, ByteDance has been exploring chip options from Chinese companies and developing its own. 

The company has designed two chips with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, aiming for mass production by 2026.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government encourages domestic tech companies to purchase AI chips from local suppliers to reduce reliance on Nvidia. 

Despite these efforts, Reuters reports that ByteDance has ordered hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s H20 chips, one of three AI chips Nvidia developed for the Chinese market in compliance with export controls.

ByteDance recently declared that it has no intention of selling TikTok’s U.S. operations despite a U.S. law forcing the platform’s divestment in the country. 

A recent survey shows that support for a U.S. government ban on TikTok fell to 32% in September, down from 50% in March 2023.