(Yicai) June 25 -- ByteDance rebutted a media report that said the Chinese owner of TikTok has joined forces with US chip designer Broadcom to develop an advanced artificial intelligence processor.

The Beijing-based company told Yicai today that the report is false.

Reuters reported yesterday, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that ByteDance is working with Broadcom on an advanced five-nanometer chip, a customized product known as an application-specific integrated circuit. The chip will comply with US export restrictions and will be produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, they added.

The tie-up will help to significantly lower procurement costs and ensure a stable supply of higher-end chips, the sources pointed out. 

ByteDance has purchased Broadcom's Tomahawk 5 nm chips and Bailly co-packaged optics switches for AI computer clusters, the California-based company has said previously.

ByteDance has been investing in the chip field in recent years. Each team makes different choices regarding chips, as each type of chip has its areas of expertise, Tan Dai, president of ByteDance's cloud computing services unit Volcano Engine, has said.

From the platform side, the scale advantage always exists, Tan said, noting that companies will consider allying with the head platform regardless of whether there will be more bottom suppliers in the future.

Editor: Martin Kadiev