According to a report by The Information, ByteDance may potentially spend US$7 billion in 2025 to bypass American sanctions.
The strategy would allow ByteDance to use Nvidia GPUs housed in cloud data centers in regions like the Middle East and Asia, where US restrictions cannot block access. This approach would theoretically comply with sanctions that prevent direct GPU purchases or use of American cloud services.
The reported plan is part of a larger US$20 billion AI infrastructure investment that includes data centers and submarine cables.
At current market rates of approximately US$1.30 per hour for H100 GPU access, US$7 billion could secure continuous use of over 614,000 H100 GPUs throughout 2025.
ByteDance has denied the report’s accuracy.
If confirmed, this investment would make ByteDance one of the world’s largest consumers of AI computing resources. The company’s strategy highlights how cloud services in unrestricted regions could offer Chinese companies alternative paths to advanced AI hardware.
