Subj : Wait, now Broadcom makes GPUs? Nvidia could face unexpected foe i
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Sun Sep 29 2024 20:15:05

Wait, now Broadcom makes GPUs? Nvidia could face unexpected foe in China as 
ByteDance could use rival bigger than Intel, AMD, Arm and Qualcomm to design 
its AI chips

Date:
Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:11:00 +0000

Description:
TikTok parent company ByteDance wants Broadcom and TSMC to design its AI 
chips.

FULL STORY
======================================================================

US trade restrictions have created significant obstacles for Chinese 
companies, limiting their access to advanced AI hardware needed to remain 
competitive globally. 

Nvidias H20 GPUs, scaled-down versions of the powerful H100, were developed 
to meet export control requirements but still come with a hefty price tag of 
around $10,000 per unit. 

Even at that price, the availability of these GPUs is limited, compounding 
the difficulties Chinese companies face. This shortage has fueled a thriving 
black market for Nvidias high-end chips, such as the H100 and A100, where 
prices continue to rise due to overwhelming demand. However, global 
companies, particularly ByteDance - the parent company of TikTok, already 
under intense scrutiny in the US - cannot afford the legal and reputational 
risks associated with engaging in such illicit markets. Two AI chips 

ByteDance has made significant investments in AI, reportedly spending over $2 
billion on Nvidia's H20 GPUs in 2024, and now according to The Information , 
the company is looking to develop its own AI GPUs to reduce dependency on 
Nvidia. 

The report adds these chips will include one designed for AI training and 
another for AI inference, and both will be produced using TSMCs advanced 
N4/N5 process, the same technology used for Nvidias Blackwell GPUs. 

Broadcom, recognized for its AI chip designs for Google, will reportedly lead 
the development of these GPUs, which are expected to enter mass production by 
2026. While several Chinese companies have developed their own AI GPUs to 
reduce reliance on Nvidia, most still depend on Nvidias hardware for more 
demanding tasks. Whether ByteDance can fully transition to its own hardware - 
and whether it would want to - remains to be seen. 

The move will certainly not be without challenges. As Tom's Hardware notes, 
The company now relies on Nvidia's CUDA and supporting software stack for AI 
training and inference. Once it goes with its AI GPUs, it must develop its 
software platform and ensure its software stack is fully compatible with its 
hardware." More from TechRadar Pro International standard for LLMs to be 
developed by US-China tech coalition China leads in up to 89% of tech 
research, study shows China leads in chipmaking equipment spending



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/wait-now-broadcom-makes-gpus-nvidia-could-face-u
nexpected-foe-in-china-as-bytedance-could-use-rival-bigger-than-intel-amd-arm-
and-qualcomm-to-design-its-ai-chip


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