ByteDance pours efforts into AI

ByteDance, owner of TikTok and Douyin, reportedly has major initiatives underway for AI-powered hardware projects, with two key hardware divisions currently driving these efforts, according to a 36Kr report that cited several sources. The report stated that one team is codenamed “D line,” led by Li Haoqian, founder of open wearable stereo brand Oladance, which ByteDance acquired recently. The other group, dubbed “O line,” is a cross-functional team tasked with exploring AI-based consumer hardware products. According to the report, it works closely with ByteDance’s artificial intelligence software team “Flow” on integrated hardware-software AI solutions. The TikTok maker overhauled its VR arm Pico late last year, two years after it was acquired by ByteDance, which was once seen as the company’s strong move into the VR industry with hardware headsets. [36Kr, in Chinese]