ByteDance Plans Arm and RISC-V CPUs; Google Also Developing Custom Chips
ByteDance is developing proprietary CPUs on two architectures—SoftBank-owned Arm and open-source RISC-V—to power AI inference in its servers and data centers, seeking partners for design and manufacturing due to global CPU shortages. Global hyperscalers including Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Microsoft are pursuing similar custom chip strategies.
1. ByteDance's Custom CPU Initiative
ByteDance is designing proprietary CPUs on Arm and RISC-V architectures to power AI inference in its servers and data centers, engaging external partners for chip design and manufacturing capacity. The project remains at an early stage as ByteDance prepares a mass rollout of agent-based AI products like Coze.
2. Industry Shift to Inference Chips
Surging chip prices and prolonged CPU supply constraints have driven major tech firms—Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Microsoft—to explore in-house CPU solutions that complement Nvidia’s GPUs and optimize performance for AI workloads. Developing custom silicon allows these hyperscalers to manage costs and tailor chip features to specific data center requirements.
3. Implications for Alphabet’s Google
Alphabet’s Google joins the growing cohort of cloud providers developing proprietary CPUs to reduce dependency on third-party vendors and enhance efficiency for AI applications. Custom chips may enable Google to accelerate AI deployment, improve energy efficiency and sharpen its competitive edge in cloud infrastructure.
