TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance Ltd, is reportedly assembling significant computing power outside China using top Nvidia chips, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday.

The report cited people familiar with the matter, saying ByteDance is working with Southeast Asian firm Aolani Cloud to deploy around 500 Nvidia Blackwell computing systems in Malaysia, which would include roughly 36,000 B200 chips.

The hardware, acquired via Aivres, could cost more than $2.5 billion if fully implemented.

Aolani currently operates with about $100 million in hardware, a spokesman reportedly told the WSJ.

ByteDance plans to use the systems for AI research and development outside China and to meet growing global demand from its customers.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report, and Nvidia, ByteDance, and Aolani Cloud did not respond to requests for comment.

Last month, Reuters reported that the U.S. is willing to allow ByteDance to purchase Nvidia’s H200 chips, although the chipmaker has yet to agree to proposed conditions for their use, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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