TikTok parent ByteDance is in talks with Shanghai-based Iluvatar CoreX to purchase AI chips for inference work, according to an exclusive report by Reuters. ByteDance is also considering a similar supply deal with Baidu, Reuters reported, signaling that the company is actively exploring multiple domestic Chinese sources for the processors it needs to run AI models.
Iluvatar CoreX is a Chinese semiconductor company headquartered in Shanghai. The discussions, as described by sources cited by Reuters, center specifically on inference chips — the hardware used to serve AI responses to users, as opposed to the chips used during the more intensive model training phase.
The talks were reported across several outlets including Yahoo Finance and Investing.com, all citing the original Reuters exclusive published on June 15.
The story matters because it illustrates how major Chinese technology firms are increasingly turning to homegrown chip suppliers to meet their AI infrastructure needs — a shift with significant implications for the global semiconductor industry and the long-term competitiveness of China's AI ecosystem.