The case, accepted by Beijing’s Haidian District Court, stems from an incident in August where the intern, surnamed Tian, was terminated for “maliciously interfering” with a model training task.
ByteDance claims Tian deliberately disrupted code to waste research resources, motivated by dissatisfaction with team resource allocation.
The company reported Tian’s actions to professional ethics organizations and the intern’s university. Despite internal investigations, Tian consistently denied wrongdoing, prompting ByteDance to pursue legal action.
ByteDance disputed earlier social media rumors suggesting the sabotage involved over 8,000 graphics processing units and tens of millions of dollars in losses — calling such claims exaggerated.
The lawsuit occurs against the backdrop of ByteDance’s aggressive AI expansion. Its ChatGPT-like chatbot Doubao, launched in August 2023, leads domestic AI chatbot rankings with 51 million monthly active users.
The incident highlights the increasing stakes and competitive tensions for AI development in China, where tech giants are investing heavily in talent and technological capabilities.
