TikTok owner ByteDance is expanding its global artificial intelligence capabilities by building computing capacity with advanced chips from Nvidia outside China, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
The company is reportedly partnering with Southeast Asian cloud provider Aolani Cloud to deploy around 500 Nvidia Blackwell computing systems in Malaysia, equivalent to roughly 36,000 B200 chips. The hardware investment is estimated to exceed $2.5 billion, the report said, citing sources familiar with the plan. Aolani currently operates about $100 million worth of computing hardware.
ByteDance intends to use the infrastructure to support AI research and development outside China while meeting increasing international demand for AI services from its customers.
An Nvidia spokesperson said U.S. export rules are structured to allow cloud computing infrastructure to be built and operated outside restricted countries, adding that securing such cloud projects could generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue and create high-paying jobs.
The spokesperson also noted that Nvidia conducts internal reviews of all cloud partners before approving them to receive its products. Aolani said it fully complies with all applicable export control regulations and aims to provide cloud-computing services to businesses across Asia and other global markets.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, Reuters reported that the United States is open to allowing ByteDance to purchase Nvidia’s H200 chips. However, the chipmaker has not yet accepted the proposed conditions governing how those chips would be used, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Click here for more on Technology
