TikTok parent ByteDance is launching an AI development platform

ByteDance is making a big move in the generative AI arms race. The parent company of TikTok is launching a public platform where users will be able to develop their own AI models.

The initial report on ByteDance’s AI service comes from South China Morning Post, which describes the upcoming platform as a competitor for similar products offered by other China-based companies, including Alibaba’s Bailian and Baidu’s Qianfan. Beijing-based ByteDance will offer its own “bot development platform” so it can “explore new generative AI products and how they can integrate with the existing ones,” according to an internal memo seen by the Post.

In addition to ByteDance’s Chinese competition, Western companies have also found ways to sell generative AI development as a service. Microsoft-backed OpenAI has released instructions who want to build custom versions of its groundbreaking ChatGPT service. Google has rolled out a number of features related to Bard, its own AI chatbot.

TikTok’s incorporation of large language models (LLMs) predates the current generative AI gold rush. It is believed that the app’s addictive algorithm is partially powered by AI. But TikTok’s attempt to build its own chatbot has hit some speed bumps. A TechCrunch report from May 2023 discussed a product codenamed Tako, which will deliver AI-powered suggestions. Months later, a South China Morning Post report indicated that an internal chatbot named ‘Grace’ would get increased testing after receiving a “mixed reception.”

Even if ByteDance’s own AI chatbot’s still need work, the company is letting individual users experiment with its favored LLMs. The bot development platform will launch a public beta “by the end of the month,” according to the memo shared by the Post.