ByteDance to get access to top-end Nvidia Blackwell chips? Report says TikTok parent planning Malaysia AI data centre
TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance aims to boost its ambitions to become a global artificial intelligence (AI) leader by building computing power outside China with $2.5 billion worth of high-end Nvidia chips.
According to a report prepared by Wall Street MagazineByteDance is working with South Asian firm Aolani Cloud, drawing up plans to use about 500 Nvidia Blackwell computing systems comprising 36,000 B200 chips at a unit in Malaysia.
Quoting people who know the subject; WSJ It said Aolani purchased the servers from Aivres, a server solutions firm that assembles servers using Nvidia hardware.
The publication noted that if all arrangements were made according to plan, the hardware involved would cost more than $2.5 billion.
What will this computing power be used for?
Reportedly, ByteDance will leverage its computing power to pursue AI research and development outside China and meet growing AI demand from its global customers, which account for a quarter of its revenue.
ByteDance already has a strong footprint in the AI space, operating five of the world’s 50 most popular AI apps by monthly users, according to Andreesen Horowitz’s report.
What’s more, the TikTok parent company has sizeable teams of AI engineers and researchers around the world who collaborate with their Chinese counterparts on basic AI research in centers like San Jose, Seattle, and Singapore.
WSJ He also said Singapore and US teams are contributing to the development of AI models and products designed for markets outside China, and plans for the Malaysian unit could follow suit.
A way to bypass export controls
The development comes as US-China tensions persist and US export controls remain in place, preventing Nvidia from selling top-of-the-line AI chips such as its Blackwell series directly to China; This, he says, is suppressing the ability of Chinese executives to develop advanced artificial intelligence.
Given current restrictions, Chinese companies have begun spending more to access computing power beyond their borders, especially in geographies where the applicability of U.S. export control rules is less clear.
This has led to a proliferation of mid-level guys who arrange for data centers to be built using Nvidia technology and then lease them to Chinese tech firms. WSJ.
Aolani, the company that employs ByteDance in the new project, is one of these companies. In its June 2025 working statement, the company said that “Asian hyperscalers” are choosing to do business with partners like itself to “adapt to the current geopolitical environment.”
“We fully comply with all applicable export control regulations,” a company spokesman was quoted as saying. WSJ.
Founded in late 2023, Aolani’s parent company is registered in the Cayman Islands. WSJ He added that one of its investors is Singapore-based venture capital firm K3 Ventures.
People familiar with the deal with ByteDance also said: WSJ He said Aolani began leasing AI servers equipped with Nvidia’s H100 chips in Malaysia to the TikTok parent company from February 2025.
The publication reported that ByteDance has already made the first payments for the latest project.
