TikTok Owner Boosts China Ties, Invests in State-Backed Chip Firm

As the Chinese government races to catch up in advanced computer chips, it has found an ally in ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. The Chinese tech company has quietly bought a stake in InnoStar Semiconductor, a Shanghai-based memory chip firm backed by the Chinese government, according to corporate records in China and Singapore.

A ByteDance spokesperson confirmed the previously unreported investment and said it was meant to help advance the company’s development of virtual reality headsets. But the investment, which aligns with China’s national strategy, may undercut TikTok’s efforts in the U.S. to persuade Washington that the company isn’t an arm of the Chinese government. That debate is in the spotlight right now, as a bill to force TikTok to cut its ties with ByteDance or face a U.S. ban advances through Congress.