ByteDance is establishing significant computing capacity based on Nvidia's most advanced artificial intelligence chips outside of China, according to the Wall Street Journal. The group is relying on Southeast Asian cloud company Aolani Cloud to deploy approximately 500 Nvidia Blackwell computing systems in Malaysia. This installation would represent nearly 36,000 B200 chips and could cost over $2.5bn. Aolani currently operates about $100m worth of computing equipment.

This infrastructure is intended to support ByteDance's international AI research and development activities and meet growing customer demand for artificial intelligence solutions. Nvidia emphasizes that export rules permit the creation and operation of cloud services in countries not subject to restrictions, which can generate contracts worth tens of billions of dollars. The manufacturer also indicates that all its cloud partners undergo a vetting process before they can receive its products.

Aolani asserts that it complies with all applicable export control regulations and plans to provide cloud computing services to various companies in Asia and the rest of the world. Last month, however, Reuters reported that the United States was prepared to authorize ByteDance's purchase of Nvidia H200 chips, but that the manufacturer had not accepted the proposed terms of use.