ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is planning to invest around $14 billion (100 billion yuan) in Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips in 2026. The move highlights the company’s rapidly growing demand for computing power to support its algorithms, even as trade tensions between the US and China continue to restrict technology flows.
According to reports by scmp.com, the planned expenditure represents a significant increase from the 85 billion yuan allocated for chip purchases in 2025. ByteDance requires advanced processors across its expanding ecosystem, which includes TikTok, its Chinese counterpart Douyin, and its cloud services arm, Volcano Engine. Its AI chatbot Doubao, in particular , is experiencing explosive growth; the system now processes more than 50 trillion tokens daily, a tenfold increase compared with last year.
Strategic Shift to Singapore
Although ByteDance continues to rely heavily on Nvidia, it is quietly advancing its own chip architecture to reduce costs and strengthen supply-chain security. An internal team of about 1,000 engineers has reportedly designed a processor with performance on par with Nvidia’s H20 chip, designed specifically for the Chinese market.
Notably, ByteDance has relocated a significant portion of its sensitive chip research to its Singapore-based subsidiary, Picoheart. The move appears to be a strategic response to geopolitical pressures, with engineers from mainland China encouraged to relocate to Singapore to work on advanced technologies.
However, the multi-billion dollar order is still subject to US regulatory approval. Nvidia aims to begin supplying its powerful H200 chips to Chinese customers in early 2026. However, it is still uncertain whether the US government will give a go ahead in time.
