TikTok-owner ByteDance is set to invest $614 million in developing a new data center in Datong, China.
First reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the company is looking to increase compute capacity to support its ChatGPT-like service Doubao.
The campus will be based in Guangling County's Economic Development Zone Big Data Park in eastern Datong.
Citing documents published to the Shanxi government website which confirm approval of the Volcano Cloud Taihang Computing Centre II Phase project, SCMP reports that Volcano Cloud, controlled by ByteDance, will be building a 205,013 sqm (2.2m sq ft) data center campus.
The campus will have six two-story data centers and one six-story integrated facility. It will house 12,604 12kW server cabinets and 510 network cabinets.
The first phase of the development comprises four data center buildings, with construction having begun in May 2023. According to government documents, it is nearing completion.
DCD has reached out to ByteDance for comment.
Volcano Cloud (Datong) Technology was established by ByteDance in December 2022.
ByteDance is also a customer of a ChinData data center at its Taihang Mountain Energy and Information Technology Industrial Campus near Datong in North China's Shanxi province. China Telecom also has a data center in Shanxi province.
In the US, waters are heating up for ByteDance after it failed to overturn the ban on TikTok in December 2024. The company has since launched an appeal with the US Supreme Court, with the judgment expected on January 19. In the meantime, reports have emerged about the possibility of a sale of TikTok with Elon Musk suggested as a potential buyer by some news outlets. ByteDance has denied discussing a sale with Musk, describing the reports as "pure fiction".
Uncertainty surrounding TikTok's future in the US is further complicated by the impending inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump. While historically in favor of banning the app, Trump has since urged the Supreme Court to delay a decision, with his lawyer stating that he "seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office."
Earlier this month, ByteDance stated that it planned to spend $7 billion to access Nvidia chips outside of China throughout 2025, making it one of Nvidia's biggest global customers. The report also suggests that ByteDance could spend more than $20 billion next year on AI chips, data centers, and other kinds of infrastructure such as undersea cables, though has not yet been confirmed in its 2025 budget.