TikTok parent ByteDance is asking Chinese employees at its Singapore headquarters to pay tax to their home country or risk losing their ability to cash out on stock options, as Beijing steps up enforcement of its global tax scheme.

ByteDance is placing a big bet on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure as the TikTok parent plans to spend more than $12 billion on AI in 2025, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

While TikTok remains hugely popular in Brazil, Indonesia and other markets, its 170 million users in the United States are its most valuable.

But the model is only meant to be used within China’s mainland, a ByteDance spokesperson told TechCrunch. The e-reader’s China-based manufacturer, Onyx International, which sells Boox e-readers in both China and to the U.

TikTok owner ByteDance on Wednesday released an update to its flagship AI model aimed at challenging Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s latest reasoning model products, as a global race intensified to create AI models capable of tackling complex problems.

TikTok owner ByteDance plans to spend more than $12bn on artificial intelligence infrastructure this year, betting on the cutting-edge technology for new growth while under pressure from Washington to sell its popular video-sharing app in the US.

According to the Financial Times, ByteDance is planning to invest over $12 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in 2025. Sources familiar