China’s ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, has introduced Doubao 2.0, the newest iteration of its AI chatbot, amid fierce competition in the country’s dynamic AI industry. This release comes as ByteDance confronts accusations from Disney regarding a separate video-generation model.
The announcement of Doubao 2.0 was made on February 14, just before the Lunar New Year holiday, a time when Chinese tech firms typically aim to attract public interest as millions of individuals travel and engage online.
ByteDance positions Doubao 2.0 as a model tailored for the “agent era,” where AI systems are anticipated to undertake intricate, multi-step tasks instead of only responding to prompts. The company claims that the pro version of the model provides advanced reasoning and task execution capabilities comparable to top systems developed by OpenAI and Google, all while significantly lowering usage costs, as per a recent Reuters report.
This launch occurs as Chinese AI companies strive to prevent a situation similar to DeepSeek’s unexpected rise last year. DeepSeek’s model garnered global attention and was frequently likened to leading US systems. DeepSeek is reportedly gearing up to unveil a new AI model with robust coding capabilities this February, according to a previous report by The Information.
Based on data from research firm QuestMobile released in December, Doubao boasted 155 million weekly active users in China, surpassing DeepSeek’s 81.6 million users.
In a separate development, ByteDance has come under fire from Disney over its recently rolled-out AI video model, Seedance 2.0. In a reported cease-and-desist letter from Disney, it was alleged that the model produced videos featuring characters like Spider-Man and Darth Vader without proper authorization. A Disney lawyer expressed concerns about potential unauthorized reproduction and distribution of their intellectual property.