AI tokens become new corporate currency in China's tech giants
Chinese tech companies including ByteDance, Alibaba Group Holding, and Tencent Holdings are adopting artificial intelligence tokens as a new form of corporate allowance for employees. A Beijing-based ByteDance employee reported consuming nearly a billion tokens monthly, yet not ranking among the top users in his department. Tokens, known as ciyuan in mainland China, function as the basic unit for measuring and billing AI services, similar to kilowatt-hours for electricity. This trend is driven by a price war in China's AI industry, highlighted by Hangzhou-based AI unicorn DeepSeek slashing the price of its flagship V4-Pro model by 75% in May. Employees are expected to budget their token use as proof of AI literacy, integrating AI into daily workflows.
Key facts
- ByteDance employee consumes close to a billion AI tokens monthly
- Tokens are called ciyuan in mainland China
- DeepSeek cut V4-Pro model price by 75% in May
- Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings also involved
- Tokens are a new corporate allowance for AI use
- Employee not authorized to speak to media
- Token consumption measured like kilowatt-hours
- Price war fuels AI adoption in corporate sector
Entities
Institutions
- ByteDance
- Alibaba Group Holding
- Tencent Holdings
- DeepSeek
Locations
- Beijing
- China
- Hangzhou