Sovereign Inference: ByteDance Buys AI Chips from China’s Iluvatar CoreX

US sanctions policy is backfiring, stimulating the Chinese R&D sector. On June 15, 2026, it was revealed that ByteDance (owner of TikTok) is in direct talks with Chinese semiconductor developer Iluvatar CoreX to purchase large batches of AI chips.

This involves microprocessors optimized for inference—the real-time application of already trained neural networks. Under strict export restrictions from Washington, which cut the PRC off from advanced NVIDIA solutions, Chinese Big Tech is forced to accelerate its transition to local silicon. ByteDance is closing its operational loop: the company already possesses massive datasets and its own models, and now it is shedding its hardware dependency. The deal with Iluvatar CoreX proves that China's technological sovereignty in AI (recall the recent $295 billion plan) is successfully moving from state strategies to real commercial pipelines.

Source: ByteDance / Iluvatar CoreX / Reuters