TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is building substantial artificial Intelligence computing capacity outside China using Nvidia’s latest chips, according to a report citing people familiar with the matter. The company is working through Southeast Asian cloud provider Aolani Cloud to assemble top-tier Nvidia hardware in Malaysia, a location that sits outside current United States restrictions on exporting advanced semiconductors to China. The effort is intended to bolster ByteDance’s global artificial Intelligence capabilities while maintaining compliance with export control rules.
ByteDance is working with Southeast Asian firm Aolani Cloud to deploy about 500 Nvidia Blackwell computing systems in Malaysia, totaling roughly 36,000 B200 chips, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The hardware build-out would likely cost more than $2.5 billion, the WSJ reported, adding that Aolani currently operates with about $100 million worth of hardware. ByteDance plans to use the computing power for artificial Intelligence research and development outside China and to meet growing global demand for artificial Intelligence from its customers, according to the report.
Nvidia framed the arrangement as consistent with United States export rules that permit cloud infrastructures to be built and run outside controlled jurisdictions, saying that “by design, the export rules allow clouds to be built and operated outside controlled countries” and that winning this business would “bring tens of billions of dollars and high paying jobs home.” The company said all cloud partners undergo internal reviews before they are cleared to receive Nvidia products. Aolani stated that it fully adheres to all applicable export control regulations and aims to provide cloud computing services to multiple companies across Asia and globally. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Last month, Reuters reported that the United States is willing to allow ByteDance to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips, but the chipmaker has not agreed to proposed conditions for their use, indicating ongoing negotiations over how far ByteDance can expand its access to cutting-edge artificial Intelligence hardware under United States rules.
