有限公司正接近达成协议，购买联发科股份有限公司的数据中心半导体。此协议将为抖音的母公司提供关键组件，同时帮助这家台湾芯片制造商在数据中心领域与高通公司竞争。
Ltd. is close to an agreement to buy MediaTek Inc. data center semiconductors, a deal that would secure vital components for TikTok’s owner while helping the Taiwanese chipmaker compete with Qualcomm Inc.
熟悉情况的人士称，这家中国社交媒体公司正与联发科进行高级别谈判，讨论定制芯片的供应，这些芯片将有助于运行字节跳动的数据中心。该台湾公司将提供未具体说明数量的专用集成电路（ASIC），即为客户平台定制的芯片。知情人士要求匿名，以便谈论这一私人安排。如果交易达成，字节跳动可能成为联发科继谷歌母公司Alphabet Inc.之后，第二大此类ASIC的主要客户。
The Chinese social media company is in advanced talks with MediaTek over the supply of bespoke chips that will help run ByteDance data centers, people familiar with the matter said. The Taiwanese firm will provide an unspecified amount of Application Specific Integrated Circuits, or chips customized to work with a clients’ platform, the people said, asking to remain anonymous to talk about a private arrangement. If the deal goes through, ByteDance may become MediaTek’s second major customer for such ASICs, after Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
字节跳动正加大硬件支出，以押注人工智能作为其下一个增长引擎。但与中国竞争对手阿里巴巴集团控股有限公司和腾讯控股有限公司一样，它被禁止获得英伟达公司等供应的最前沿人工智能芯片。华为技术有限公司等本土企业无法满足全部需求。
ByteDance is ramping up hardware spending to fuel a bet on AI as its next growth engine. But like Chinese rivals Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., it’s barred from the most cutting-edge AI chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. Local players such as Huawei Technologies Co. can’t meet all demand.
因此，中国最大的私营企业正在探索替代方案，包括与芯片设计商的合作——只要中国企业寻求的人工智能计算能力不超过某个阈值，这在美国当前的出口管制下是被允许的。彭博社报道，字节跳动今年早些时候曾与高通达成类似协议，以采购数百万颗人工智能芯片。
China’s biggest private firm is thus exploring alternatives including partnerships with chip designers — something that’s allowed under current US export curbs so long as the AI computing power a Chinese firm is seeking doesn’t exceed a certain threshold. ByteDance struck a similar deal with Qualcomm earlier this year to procure millions of AI chips, Bloomberg News reported.
对联发科而言，赢得大规模合同将有助于其摆脱对手机的依赖，在数据中心领域与高通和博通公司竞争——这是一个它较为陌生的领域。该台湾公司预计其人工智能芯片销售额将在今年达到约20亿美元，并瞄准明年占据800亿美元市场的15%。英伟达公司9月宣布将向总部位于新竹的这家芯片制造商投资35亿美元，推动其雄心壮志的实现。字节跳动暂无置评，而联发科代表则拒绝置评。
For MediaTek, a large-scale contract win would boost its efforts to diversify away from mobile phones and compete with Qualcomm and Broadcom Inc. in data centers, an arena it’s less familiar with. The Taiwanese firm expects its AI chip sales to reach about $2 billion this year and is targeting 15% of the $80 billion market next year. Nvidia announced a deal to invest $3.5 billion in the Hsinchu-based chipmaker in September, propelling those ambitions. ByteDance didn’t have immediate comment, while MediaTek representatives declined to comment.
联发科已成为科技公司为人工智能应用定制半导体的推动力的主要受益者之一，凭借其在移动处理器方面的专业技术，参与到数据中心基础设施的竞争中。其市值约为2100亿美元，是台湾仅次于台积电的最大企业。
MediaTek has emerged as a key beneficiary of a push by technology companies to design custom semiconductors for AI applications, using its expertise in mobile processors to participate in the data center infrastructure rush. With a market value of around $210 billion, it’s Taiwan’s biggest firm after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
字节跳动代表着联发科的一个机遇：一个高容量客户，应能推动台湾公司在半导体行业增长最快的细分领域之一的进军。与美国最大的公司一样，字节跳动及其中国竞争对手计划加大对训练和运行人工智能服务所需基础设施的支出 — — 为该技术演进带来的广泛消费者采用做准备。
ByteDance represents an opportunity for MediaTek: a high-volume customer that should galvanize the Taiwanese firm’s foray into one of the fastest-growing segments of the semiconductor industry. Like the largest US firms, ByteDance and its Chinese rivals plan to ramp up spending on the infrastructure required to train and run AI services — in anticipation of widespread consumer adoption as the technology evolves.
这家总部位于北京的公司正考虑将今年的资本支出提高至最高700亿美元 — — 超过去年总额的一倍多 — — 以建设其数据中心及其他人工智能基础设施。若经济和商业条件有利，明年2027年的支出可能升至1000亿美元。该公司已于9月获得300亿美元贷款，以资助其支出。
The Beijing-based company is considering boosting capital spending to as much as $70 billion this year — more than double last year’s total — to build out its data centers and other AI infrastructure. That may rise to $100 billion in 2027 next year, if economic and business conditions are favorable. It secured a $30 billion loan in September to fund its outlay.
字节跳动的支出标志着一个新的、更具侵略性的推动，旨在巩固其在聊天机器人和视频等关键细分领域的早期领先地位，并扩大其海外影响力。该公司正围绕种子舞等旗舰模型布局其人工智能业务，而该模型面临着来自阿里巴巴的开心马、快手科技的Kling AI以及谷歌等的激烈竞争。
ByteDance’s spending marks a new, much more aggressive push to cement an early lead in key segments like chatbots and video, and expand its influence overseas. The company is pinning its AI business around flagship models like Seedance, which faces stiff competition from the likes of Alibaba’s Happy Horse, Kuaishou Technology’s Kling AI and Google.