Chinese start-up ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動) has begun hiring employees for a possible push into semiconductors, exploring an expansion well beyond the video app TikTok for which it is best known.
The Beijing-based company has posted at least a dozen job openings related to semiconductors, including hardware and software engineers in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed that it is hiring talent as it explores initiatives in the field, including building server chips based on Arm Ltd designs.
Photo: Reuters
ByteDance has become the most valuable start-up in the world on the success of TikTok and its domestic clone, Douyin (抖音).
The company, last valued at about US$180 billion, is said to be exploring an initial public offering for some of its businesses in Hong Kong, including Douyin.
In pushing into chips, ByteDance chief executive officer Zhang Yiming (張一鳴) is delving into a business that has become a top priority for the Chinese Communist Party.
At the Chinese National People’s Congress this month, the government pledged to boost spending and drive research into cutting-edge chips and artificial intelligence in an effort to vie with the US for global influence.
Baidu Inc (百度), the dominant search provider in China and a ByteDance rival, has raised US$230 million for its artificial intelligence chip division ahead of a potential spin-off of the business.
Companies such as Google, Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc have worked to custom design silicon as they expand into new fields.
Gains in efficiency and security are among the key advantages of crafting application-specific hardware.
ByteDance’s foray could help it produce chips tailor-made for processing the data and making AI recommendations for its stable of social apps.
Separately, China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) is considering an A-share listing after the country’s largest wireless carrier was removed from the New York Stock Exchange under an investment ban, people familiar with the matter said.
The state-owned firm has discussed the potential offering with advisers as it looks for new avenues to fund its 5G network development, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
Deliberations are at an early stage and China Mobile has not decided the size and timeline of the listing, the people said.
The New York Stock Exchange in January delisted the three major Chinese state-owned telecoms — China Mobile, China Telecom Corp (中國電信) and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd (中國聯通) — to comply with an executive order by then-US president Donald Trump barring US investments in Chinese firms deemed as having links with the Chinese military.
The firms are appealing the removals.
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