ByteDance Eyes AI Hardware, discovering portable headphones and portable AI devices, inspired by Microsoft’s ecosystem strategy – China Money Network

According to Chinese media reports, ByteDance is investing heavily in AI hardware, potentially considering launching portable stereo headphones or portable AI devices.

The Chinese social media giant is drawing inspiration from US conglomerate Microsoft as it aims to create an ecosystem of AI hardware and software products that integrates users on both fronts.

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is investing in large language models (LLM) and has launched numerous AI-powered products for consumers and enterprises, which China Money Network has covered extensively in the past (see related stories).

Despite investing heavily in hardware in the past, ByteDance has not had much success. However, the company has accumulated experience in hardware products and has a team of talented individuals capable of bringing successful hardware products to market.

ByteDance’s expansion into AI hardware products

ByteDance’s AI hardware research is reportedly split into two product lines. One of the product lines is codenamed “D Line” and is headed by Li Haoqian, founder of the OWS (Open Wearable Stereo) headphone brand Oladance, which was recently acquired by ByteDance. The Oladance team is integrated with ByteDance as part of the Mobile OS Middleware business unit.

The second product line, codenamed “O Line”, is also run by the founder of the company previously acquired by ByteDance. O Line is a cross-organizational team that not only explores ByteDance’s AI hardware, but also works closely with ByteDance’s AI application team, Flow. The O Line, created during the pandemic, meets the expectations of ByteDance executives in terms of exploring hardware terminals.

A ByteDance official told Chinese media 36Kr that its Doubao chatbot is exploring integration with smart wearable devices to provide users with a more natural and convenient interaction. Additionally, Doubao will make its capabilities available to various hardware manufacturers, supporting collaboration between hardware manufacturers and large Doubao AI models/assistants.

Drawing inspiration from Microsoft

ByteDance senior management drew inspiration from Microsoft’s product strategy and business system in its approach to AI hardware products. Microsoft’s consumer-grade hardware ranges from personal computers, and its software ecosystem ranges from the Windows operating system to collaboration tools like Teams.

ByteDance has a similar setup with Feishu, similar to Microsoft Teams, and an AI unit called Flow, responsible for research and development of large language models (LLM). ByteDance has unveiled several LLMs for various applications. However, it lacks a comprehensive offer of consumer equipment.

The specifics of the mobile devices ByteDance is exploring remain unclear, but the company is reportedly looking to partner with manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Gionee. It is unclear whether any agreements have been reached.

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has been keeping a close eye on AI hardware exploration. Reports indicate that the company is also closely monitoring potential employees from the mobile industry to strengthen its team.

The industry’s enthusiasm to explore AI hardware is fueled by the need for innovation and new forms, as desktop computers and mobile phones, which have dominated for years, now face bottlenecks in both innovation and shipment volumes. This has created an urgent need to explore a new generation of general computing devices.

Mixed track record for ByteDance’s previous hardware forays

Although ByteDance is renowned in the application field, known as the “App Factory” in China, its hardware exploration has not been successful in the past.

In 2019, ByteDance announced the acquisition of smartphone company Smitaryan, launching products such as the Nut Pro smartphone and the TNT display kit. In 2020, ByteDance established the “Dali Education” brand and began developing educational products such as desk lamps.

After two years of unsuccessful searches for SmArtist smartphones, ByteDance quickly announced that it would discontinue smartphone development and incorporated the original SmArtist team into its educational equipment team.

In 2021, ByteDance made a high-profile acquisition of headset maker Pico for 9 billion yuan. However, less than two years later, the Pico OS team was merged with ByteDance’s product development middleware and engineering architecture, leading to significant layoffs.

For ByteDance, this new venture into AI hardware research and development means not only a transformation in product form, but also a fundamental change in interaction methods and content acquisition methods.

Despite previous challenges with its Smitary smartphones and Pico headset, ByteDance has built up significant expertise in hardware project management and interactive operating systems. Time will tell how effective the AI ​​hardware will be.