Prime Highlights
- ByteDance in talks to buy AI chips from Iluvatar CoreX and Baidu.
- Deal would mark major commercial milestone for Iluvatar CoreX.
Key Facts
- Iluvatar CoreX is a Shanghai-based Chinese GPU chipmaker listed in Hong Kong.
- Chinese chipmakers are gaining ground in the domestic AI chip market.
Background
ByteDance, the Chinese technology company behind TikTok, is in talks with Shanghai-based chipmaker Iluvatar CoreX to buy AI chips for inference work, and is also considering a similar deal with Baidu, according to two people familiar with the matter.
If finalised, Iluvatar CoreX would become ByteDance’s third major domestic supplier of graphics processing units, joining Huawei and Cambricon, the sources said. ByteDance is also looking at using Baidu’s Kunlunxin chips, with Tencent already a customer of that product line, one source added.
None of the companies involved responded to requests for comment.
The potential deals point to growing momentum for Chinese-made AI chips as Beijing pushes for greater self-reliance amid ongoing U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips. Chinese chipmakers have already gained a significant share of the domestic AI accelerator server market, narrowing the lead once held by foreign suppliers.
Iluvatar CoreX is expected to ship at least 50,000 chips to ByteDance this year, mostly for inference tasks linked to its AI chatbot Doubao, the sources said. Inference involves responding to user queries, unlike training, which needs more powerful chips. The details of the talks remain unconfirmed and could change.
A deal with ByteDance would mark a major milestone for Iluvatar CoreX, which has so far mainly served government procurement contracts. The company, which was listed in Hong Kong earlier this year, reported around 1 billion yuan in revenue last year, mostly from GPU sales. Its revenue is projected to rise sharply this year, with shipments expected to more than double. Shares of Iluvatar CoreX rose sharply following the report.