(Yicai) Jan. 23 -- ByteDance has established a research team focused on artificial general intelligence, a type of AI that aims to mimic the cognitive abilities of the human brain, Chinese media reported after the parent of TikTok denied plans to invest over USD12 billion in AI infrastructure this year.

The Seed Edge team will explore long-term, uncertain, and bold research topics related to AGI, technology news website LatePost reported today. ByteDance will provide dedicated computing resources for this initiative, aiming to create a flexible research environment with longer evaluation cycles, the report added.

The initial research directions include exploring the boundaries of reasoning and perceptual capabilities, integrated hardware and software design for next-generation AI models, new learning methods, and scaling, according to the same source.

Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, has been placing significant emphasis on investment in AI research in recent years. Zhang is deeply engaged with AI, studying technical details and engaging in conversations with AI researchers, encouraging them to explore fundamental topics, LatePost reported, citing informed sources.

ByteDance's AI budget has been in the headlines lately. A company representative told Yicai yesterday that the firm attaches great importance to developing and investing in AI. However, the recent news of an over USD12 billion budget is incorrect.

The Financial Times reported on Jan 21 ByteDance plans to double its investment in domestic AI chips to CNY40 billion (USD5.5 billion) this year from 2024 and spend around USD6.8 billion to boost the training capabilities of its overseas foundation model using advanced Nvidia chips.

The TikTok owner has joined a group of Chinese firms aiming to outperform OpenAI's powerful large language model ChatGPT. ByteDance launched its generative AI product called Doubao in August 2023.

Leveraging its vast user base on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, Doubao has gained an edge. The Doubao application reached 56 million monthly active users as of last November, accounting for half of the total MAU of all AI-generated content products in China, according to research agency QuestMobile.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine