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 plans to invest over $20.64 billion in capital expenditure this year, mainly focusing on artificial intelligence infrastructure such as data centers and networking equipment. This spending aims to bolster AI capabilities both domestically and internationally,

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