ByteDance has raised $29.6 billion from nearly 30 banks as the TikTok owner increases spending on artificial intelligence and overseas infrastructure.
The financing started with a $20 billion target, but strong demand from lenders pushed the amount much higher, according to three people familiar with the deal.
More than 60% of the facility came from Chinese banks. Lenders from the United States, Europe and Singapore also joined the financing.
Citigroup and JPMorgan are co-ordinating the three-year loan. ByteDance can extend the facility for another two years.
The size of the deal places it second among Asia’s largest loans this year. SoftBank’s $40 billion facility, raised in March to support its investment in OpenAI, remains the largest.
ByteDance’s borrowing comes as the company commits more money to the infrastructure behind its AI products. Data centres and computing capacity require large amounts of capital, especially as companies race to develop and run bigger AI models.
The company has told lenders the money is for general corporate purposes. People familiar with the financing, however, said its AI plans will take up a large share of the funds.
Some of that expansion is taking place outside China.
ByteDance has become an offtaker for several data centres being developed in Southeast Asia. Such agreements allow the company to secure data centre capacity before facilities are completed.
The company is also looking to strengthen its access to AI chips. Recent reports in June revealed that ByteDance was discussing chip purchases with Shanghai-based Iluvatar CoreX for inference workloads. It was also considering a similar arrangement with Baidu.
That spending comes with a challenge as US restrictions have limited ByteDance’s access to some advanced AI chips, forcing the company to look at other sources of computing hardware.
The scale of its latest borrowing shows how much capital ByteDance is prepared to commit to the sector.
It also marks an increase from the company’s previous international financing. ByteDance raised $10.8 billion from about 20 lenders in 2024. Its latest facility is almost three times that amount.
No collateral for $29.6bn facility
ByteDance did not pledge assets or shares against the new loan.
That makes the facility unusual for its size. One source familiar with the transaction said lenders were relying largely on the company’s credit strength.
“It is very rare to see such a mega loan unsecured,” the source said. “The banks practically are counting purely on ByteDance’s name.”
The decision to lend such a large amount without collateral also comes as ByteDance remains a private company. Its financial results are therefore less visible to public investors than those of listed technology companies.
Still, banks showed enough interest to push the loan well beyond its original target.
The development shows the huge financing needs created by the AI boom. Companies are spending heavily not only on models but also on the chips, data centres and computing systems needed to operate them.
ByteDance is now seeking a larger place in that market.
Its AI drive goes beyond its established consumer platforms, with spending focused on the infrastructure and technology needed to compete with major AI companies.
The company and JPMorgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Citigroup declined to comment.
