TikTok owner ByteDance on Wednesday released an update to its flagship AI model as a global race intensified to create AI models capable of tackling complex problems.

ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has earmarked over 150 billion yuan ($20.64 billion) in capital expenditure for this year, much of which will be centred on artificial intelligence, two people briefed on the matter said.

ByteDance released Doubao-1.5-pro, an upgrade to its flagship AI model, which it claims outperforms OpenAI's o1 in AIME.

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has earmarked over 150 billion yuan ($20.64 billion) for capital expenditures in 2025, with a substantial portion of the funds being directed toward artificial intelligence,

The development comes as the Beijing-based company faces pressure from the US government to sell its social media app TikTok.

The Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has rattled markets with claims its latest AI model performs on a par with those of OpenAI, despite using less advanced, more energy efficient computer chips.

ByteDance has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered code editor in competition with American leaders like Cursor and Microsoft's Visual Studio Code, just after US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law requiring the company to divest TikTok.

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is reportedly preparing to invest more than $12 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure by the year 2025. According to a report from the Financial Times,

TikTok parent ByteDance has launched an updated version of Doubao, China's most popular consumer-facing artificial intelligence (AI) app, as the tech giant accelerates AI development despite US export restrictions on advanced chips.

The AI race gets frantic as Alibaba throws down a challenge at DeepSeek just days after ByteDance launches its own new AI model.

Based on my tests and published reports, DeepSeek not yet as advanced as its American counterparts, but it’s quite good