- ByteDance is reportedly developing its own artificial intelligence chip for inference applications.
- Company is in manufacturing discussions with Samsung Electronics, sources familiar say.
- Move aims to secure chip supply amid rising global AI demand.
Chinese tech giant ByteDance, best known as the parent company of TikTok, is reportedly working on developing its own artificial intelligence (AI) chip and is in discussions with Samsung Electronics to manufacture it, according to people familiar with the matter.
The project exists because ByteDance needs to create dependable methods for obtaining powerful processing technology which is currently experiencing rising worldwide demand together with a growing market need for specialized chip designs.
Sources said ByteDance aims to receive sample versions of the new chip by the end of March 2026. The chip, which manufacturers will produce to fulfill AI inference requirements, will reach its first production milestone of 100000 units during this year, with future production capabilities of 350000 units based on demand improvements.
The Samsung negotiations, which currently take place, will address both manufacturing services and memory chip access because companies are expanding their AI infrastructure, which has created high demand for these supplies.
A ByteDance spokesperson declared that the reported information about its internal chip development program was incorrect because he did not provide additional information. Samsung refused to make any statements about the ongoing talks.
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The reported chip development effort, code-named "SeedChip", reflects ByteDance's broader push into AI, which includes investments in large language models, cloud infrastructure and other AI technologies.
Industry leaders like Alphabet's Google and Amazon and Microsoft have already developed proprietary AI chips to reduce dependence on dominant external suppliers like Nvidia.
The reported move of ByteDance into AI chip design follows the trend that exists because Chinese technology companies must deal with rising U.S. export controls and supply chain difficulties.
The company plans to spend heavily on AI hardware for its current fiscal year through acquiring external chips and conducting internal chip development research.