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.

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.

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has earmarked over 150 billion yuan ($20.64 billion) for capital expenditures in 2025, with a substantial portion of the funds being directed toward artificial intelligence,