ByteDance Secures $29.6B Loan from 30 Banks for AI Push

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has secured a $29.6 billion loan from nearly 30 banks as it ramps up spending on Artificial Intelligence, according to a report by Reuters. Strong lender demand allowed the company to raise the dollar-denominated facility from an initial $20 billion target.

Banks from China, the United States, Europe, and Singapore are participating, with Chinese banks subscribing to more than 60% of the total. “It is very rare to see such a mega loan unsecured,” one source told Reuters, adding that “the banks practically are counting purely on ByteDance’s name.”

The three-year loan, which can be extended by two years, is reportedly for general corporate purposes. However, sources said it will mainly fund overseas AI projects, including data center capacity in Southeast Asia.

ByteDance’s loan follows heavy investment across the AI sector. A January 2025 report said the company planned to spend up to $12 billion on chips and overseas infrastructure, though ByteDance disputed the figures. Two months later, OpenAI secured a $40 billion SoftBank-led funding round, while ByteDance’s Doubao ranked fourth in an August survey of mobile AI usage.

Chinese developers are also competing on price. DeepSeek and Xiaomi sharply cut the cost of their AI models in May, widening the pricing gap with leading American systems. ByteDance’s expansion comes as Beijing tightens its AI oversight, as the company removed customizable agents from Doubao ahead of new restrictions on humanlike AI services.

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